A defeated minister, a destroyed satellite and an unfinished project

Pedro Sánchez's government has seen its three great space aspirations evaporate in just 30 days.

Spain's limited ambitions in the field of space have been shattered with three serious hits between mid-November and mid-December. Three blows from which the three ministries that lead the Spanish space sector, the departments of defence, science and industry, have yet to recover. 

On the one hand, the loss of the Ingenio observation satellite -also known by the acronym SeoSat- which has put the conclusion of the National Satellite Earth Observation Programme (PNOTS) on hold and casts a shadow of doubt at national and international level over its immediate future and appropriate development. The PNOTS is an initiative launched in July 2007 by the ministries of defence and industry to give Spain strategic autonomy in obtaining terrestrial images from space. 

Its aim is to have two complementary satellites, one equipped with radar technology called Paz and the other called Ingenio, equipped with electro-optical technology. The images provided by each of them were to enable the Spanish government to extract strategic information from both and the integration of their data. In this way it would enjoy the advantages of a dual remote sensing system that is only available to very few countries in the world.

While Paz flew into space in February 2018 and entered service in September of that same year, the accident of the European Vega launcher on 17 November last destroyed Ingenio. The result is that the Spanish government is going to lack the optical images that Ingenio was supposed to provide, while leaving the PNOTS without one of its two foundations and half of its desired observation capabilities. 

In short, the surprising disintegration of Ingenio has disoriented the holders of the three most important portfolios involved in the PNOTS: Margarita Robles, Pedro Duque and Reyes Maroto. The three ministers have the alternatives on the table. But they have not yet reached an agreement, nor do they dare firmly propose to Moncloa the replacement of the shattered satellite, much less to the Finance Minister, María Jesús Montero. Is Moncloa going to leave the matter as it is?

If so, why did the Rodríguez Zapatero government embark on the PNOTS, train the national space industry and pay out on the order of 400 million euros? As solutions, it seems reasonable to consider the construction, alone or in cooperation, of a satellite that would contribute to and improve the lost capabilities of Ingenio or, on the contrary, to renounce autonomy in remote sensing and purchase the images from third parties. 

The third and biggest fiasco-especially for the prestige of the Spanish brand-is the pitched defeat suffered by the minister and astronaut Pedro Duque in his battle to become director general of the European Space Agency (ESA), one of the five most important space entities in the world.

ESA has just officially announced - on Thursday 17 December - who will replace the current head of the organisation, the German Jan Woerner, whose term of office ends on 30 June 2021. The decision has been taken by the so-called Council, the collective body that governs the destiny of the aforementioned intergovernmental organisation.

The person elected with the votes of the majority of the delegates of the 22 member countries, including Spain, is not Pedro Duque but the Austrian Josef Aschbacher, who will govern the Agency's destiny from 1 July 2021. A well-known and appreciated person in the European and international space sector, he has held the post of Director of ESA's Earth Observation Programmes since 2016. He is also the head of the European Centre for Earth Observation (ESRIN) located in Frascati, 30 kilometres east of Rome (Italy).

So what happened to Pedro Duque? He has been very disappointed that he has not properly assessed his chances against those of his competitors. The success of the summit of European space ministers in Seville in November 2019, which was hosted by Spain, gave him the opportunity to receive many congratulations from his colleagues and also words of support in the event that he were to run for director general of the ESA. But words of courtesy are one thing, facts are quite another. 

Did he overestimate the fact that he was an astronaut, a minister and had increased Spain's investment in the ESA? Did he underestimate his opponents? Did he mistake his approach to alliances? Did he trust the words of those who flattered him? Should he have withdrawn his candidacy as he became aware that he was a loser? The truth is that he will not be able to see his aspiration to lead European space policy fulfilled. He will leave his office at the Ministry of Science and Innovation in the Paseo de la Castellana 162 and move to ESA headquarters at 24 rue General Bertrand, in the central Parisian District VII, just 25 minutes' walk from the Eiffel Tower. 

Pedro Duque's defeat is also that of President Sánchez, who, with the setback of his minister, adds to the failure of his three attempts to place as many of the members of his Cabinet at the head of international organisations, as he had announced on 7 June. 

The Minister of the Economy, Nadia Calviño, suffered a severe setback because official propaganda gave her as the "favourite" to take on the post of president of the Eurogroup, an informal but extremely important body which brings together the economic and financial ministers of the European Union. Calviño came out of his reverie when he lost the vote to the Irish finance minister, Paschal Donohoe, on 9 July.

The case of Pedro Duque is different, because while Nadia Calviño's competitors were all sitting ministers and the winner was going to be one of them, in the case of Pedro Duque he was the only minister who aspired to the post. Did he trust that his ESA colleagues could not give him an ugly face and would opt for his candidacy over others? We will never know.

The foreign minister, Arancha González Laya, was also pushed by Moncloa towards the spheres of international Olympia. But at the beginning of July she declined to submit her candidature to head the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The few possibilities she had of being elected made her give up the attempt, even though the head of government was sponsoring her for the post.