AN OVERVIEW ON EUROPEAN SPS ACTIVITIES K. K. Reinhartz European Space Agency European Space Research & Technology Centre, Noordwijk, The Netherlands 1. Introduction Satellite Power Systems have now been studied in Europe for at least six years. Both national and international government agencies and industry have been involved in evaluating the potential contribution of an SPS to the European energy supply and to assess the potential impact on European industry of European participation in an SPS programme. So far this effort has been at a much lower level than in the United States. A large part has been a critical review of the work performed in the United States, but in addition an effort has been made to identify problems that would be specific to a European application of the SPS and to study possible solutions to these problems. To assist understanding of the complicated institutional framework in which European SPS activities take place, it is useful to review first the organization of space and energy research in Europe before describing the activities themselves in more detail. In Europe space research and space technology development is pursued at both an international and a national level. Most of Europe's international space activities are the responsibility of the European Space Agency (ESA), which was formed from the two earlier European space organizations: The European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) and the European Organisation for the Development and Construction of Space Vehicle Launchers (ELDO). ESA's Member States are Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Other countries, e. g. Austria, Canada and Norway participate in selected Agency programmes. In addition to the joint European programmes, several of ESA's Member States have national space projects, which they conduct alone or bilaterally with other European countries or with the United States. In space research and technology development, the joint European programmes of ESA represent the major part of the overall European effort. The situation is very different for energy technology. There are joint European programmes, mostly funded through the Commission of the European Communities, but they represent only a small part of the total effort in Europe, which is mainly controlled at national level. The major energy activities of the European Communities are the Joint European Torus (JET) experiment on thermonuclear fusion and the work at the Joint Research Establishments concerned mainly with nuclear-energy- related research. In addition to the Communities programme, several European countries participate on an individual basis in energy research projects organized under the auspices of the International Energy Agency (IEA) of which most Western countries are members, including the United States and Japan. 2. The European Energy Situation Only thirty years ago Europe was almost self-sufficient in energy. Since then, however, its consumption has more than doubled and the additional demand has had to be met with imported energy, mostly in the form of oil and gas. Recent events
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