German Space Agency Head Ends ESA Chief Candidacy, Backs New Term for Dordain

摘要

The head of the German Aerospace Center, DLR, has formally taken himself out of the running to become director-general of the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2011 and has said both Germany and France have agreed that the current ESA chief, Jean-Jacques Dordain, should be renewed for a two- or four-year term.rnIn an occasionally philosophical blog post laced with references to sociologist Max Weber's meditation on the merits of science versus politics as a vocation, Johann-Dietrich Woerner says he has unfinished business at DLR. More broadly, he says, his life's goal is not to chase after prestige or financial success.