TECHNOLOGY MAPPING OF MAJOR SPACE AGENCIES

摘要

In periods of reducing public funding, it is of paramount importance to avoid duplication of efforts, to enhance the complementary role of various partners, to fill the gaps identified and to improve competitiveness. In order to fulfil these goals various mechanisms are established to identify and possibly exchange information on research in the same technological fields. In this context, and under the overall European Space Agency coordination, the European space sector agreed to elaborate a technology strategy based on missions and market requirements collected in the so-called Dossier 0, the European Space Technology Requirements Document. This document summarizes in a single text, a complete view at European level of all the envisaged future missions or activities, the associated technology requirements, and "the technology push" including generic technologies. For the consolidation of the requirements, a Standard Technology Index called the ESA Technology Tree (ETT) has been created.rnHaving a number of international participants in the International Space University's Summer Session Program (SSP) in 2003 it was considered to be highly relevant to perform a survey of space technology research and development and innovation activities of each of the world's major civilian space agencies (China, Japan, Russia and USA) outside Europe and to map their technology competencies. Surveys consisted of identifying each country's main space policies and strategies, explaining how they handle innovation in space technology, and assessing cooperation potentials. Technology mapping consisted of listing (based on ETT), each country's main missions and technologies required to accomplish those missions in order to allow interagency comparison. Secondly, three case studies are illustrating how space organisations can benefit from the standardised survey and mapping previously obtained.