As European Space Agency Grows, New Members Face Familiar Problem

摘要

The European Space Agency (ESA), which counted 12 national members in the 1980s, reached 18 in 2008 and is likely on the way to 25-nation membership, faces several hurdles as it tries to attract small European nations, according to European government officials.rnMany of the problems facing prospective ESA members are those that confront small nations that are currently members of the agency. These include the difficulties of developing a national space industry with a tiny space budget, and how to invest these limited resources in ways that avoid head-on competition for contracts with ESA's well-armed larger members.