posted 05-28-2008 09:09 AM               

Business Week: Europe Plans Manned Spaceship

The news was only announced to a small group of people. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the aerospace group EADS Astrium had invited a mere handful of journalists to Bremen. Hardly any information had been revealed before the meeting, only nebulous hints.

Now the reason for the secrecy has become apparent. Astrium is planning to add a new chapter to the history of space exploration. Engineers have quietly been developing a plan that would lead to the entry of Europe into manned space travel — if it gets political backing.

Planners say manned European spaceflight could become a reality within nine years. The essence of the plan is to turn Europe's unmanned Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) into a full spacecraft in two stages.

A model of a proposed European manned spaceship has gone on show at the Berlin Air Show.

The design, which has been produced by EADS Astrium, is based on the unmanned "Jules Verne" freighter recently sent to the International Space Station.

Astrium says a crewed version of the truck is a logical evolution, and could fly in the next decade if it received support from European governments.

Key states - Germany, France, and Italy - are said to be very interested.

The model unveiled at the International Aerospace Exhibition (ILA) in Berlin is one-for-one in scale.

posted 05-28-2008 09:54 AM               

When you think that it's been 10 years (!) that an Atmospheric Reentry Demonstrator has been tested...