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Europe in space (6)
small Europe update

"The attention of the second ESC-NASA joint group of experts which met at Neuilly (Paris) from 8 to 11 February 1972 took account of the changing context of US-European cooperation. As of December, apart from the prospects of European participation in the shuttle even in reduced terms, two other areas of cooperation had been envisaged:
1. the tug system, on which ELDO had issued a Phase A report since the first meeting;
2. an orbital system or module and some studies on experiment definition.
From the beginning of 1972 the various orbital system concepts had crystallised in the form of a "sortie module", i.e. a laboratory transported by the shuttle that would remain attached to it throughout its stay in orbit.
It happened that within a space station program both elements might survive in some form or another. The sortie lab would evolve into a fully-fledged station module, probably derived from Big Gemini cargo section.

The real surprise was NASA change of attitude over ELDO involvement in the space tug. From the very beginning this had been the part of the post-Apollo programme in which Europe could have best profited from technology transfer; yet in shuttle days NASA had been markedly reluctant.

The reason officially given were mainly technical. This, it was said, was the less advanced project, in terms of the development phase, of the post-Apollo programme; it was not clear how, when and indeed if ever it would be built.

The secondary literature gives additional reasons including:
1. American scepticism, widely shared in Europe, over Europe's technical ability to develop the tug on its own, especially as far as propulsion was concerned;
2. The necessity for the USA not to transfer sensitive and/or economically valuable US technology;
3. NASA's concern over the safety of housing a tug with its planned cryogenic fuel in the shuttle's payload bay;
4. Military willingness to take complete control over the device.
5.The cost of the Sortie lab was then estimated at $200 million, against an estimated cost for shuttle tug of about $500 million for prospect of a production line of 20 to 30 units over a decade.

This difference has been considered to be an important element in the launcher-versus-post-Apollo dilemma.

In the end the much less expensive space station tug freed relevant European financial contributions in favour of Ariane just like the sortie lab would have.

The new tug was indeed a different beast than its shuttle predecessor.

Tug missions now amount to bridge the distance between orbital injection by the launch vehicle and the space station itself, including docking.

The tug would no longer be carried by a manned vehicle; cryogenic propulsion was deemed totally unnecessary; and the military had no longer interest in the project. It was on this renewed basis that NASA encouraged ELDO involvement in the space tug.


Excerpt from: A history of the European Space Agency, 1958 - 1987
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