EADS Space hopes its acquisition last week of the Netherlands’ satellite technology company Dutch Space will maximise its revenue from the European Space Agency’s geographic-return principle and help it lobby for greater space funding as it faces 700 job losses. The European space giant operates in five European Union countries.
ESA organises spending to ensure that a country’s space industry receives contracts commensurate with its government’s contribution to the ESA budget, so owning more companies in more ESA member states means potentially more revenue for EADS Space. On 5-6 December, ESA will agree a new budget for 2006-10, but EADS Space believes the proposed budget is not enough. “We will have to reduce our staff again,” it says.
Source: Flight International