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BREMEN, Germany—The European Space Agency is looking to revamp how it implements technology programs to better support the continent's companies as competition in the sector heats up globally, says Dietmar Pilz, ESA’s Director of Technology, Engineering & Quality.
“We cannot proceed as we have done,” he said Nov. 19 here at Space Tech Expo Europe.
ESA also plans to roll out a 2040 technology vision in the coming weeks, he disclosed. The document has been in the works for several months and would augment ESA’s 2040 strategy which is already out.
Among the proposed changes Pilz outlined is the need for ESA to speed up its interactions with industry to become nimbler. The contractual process to support new technology efforts also needs to happen faster to be relevant to industry, he said. Processes also need to be streamlined, he added, with companies sometimes facing too many programs to determine where they can best contribute.
But ESA also needs to better focus its technology spending, he said.
Pilz also wants ESA to be more open to working with non-space experts to tackle emerging technologies in areas such as quantum, cyber and artificial intelligence. The goal is to insource ideas, he said.
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