A pretty honest assessment of the situation IMHO. These numbers are rather depressing.
Peter B. de Selding @pbdes 5m5 minutes agoEurope's spaceport: 3 wks into general strike, roadblocks still up. No improvement in view; Fr presidential elections April 23/May 7.
Peter B. de Selding @pbdes 2m2 minutes agoEurope's spaceport: Fr president Hollande calls for roadblock's end; no effect. Some say he shld travel to Fr Guiana, make symbolic gesture.
I sincerely hope France can settle its problems with French Guyana and I would never belittle the issues the people have there........but, ultimately, this is one example of why depending on international partners can be a liability. Suppose, in a worst case scenario (but highly unlikely), F. Guyana fully revolts and in the process destroys the spaceport. ESA could still manufacture spacecraft, but lack a launch site if not the means to launch said spacecraft. ESA would find itself momentarily at the mercy of either Russia or America. This could potentially be a burden to (as an example) America if a project akin to ISS (Deep Space Gateway anyone?) required a few sizable components to launch out of their spaceport (also there's the Webb's situation if you think about it).
Quote from: redliox on 04/11/2017 08:38 pmI sincerely hope France can settle its problems with French Guyana and I would never belittle the issues the people have there........but, ultimately, this is one example of why depending on international partners can be a liability. Suppose, in a worst case scenario (but highly unlikely), F. Guyana fully revolts and in the process destroys the spaceport. ESA could still manufacture spacecraft, but lack a launch site if not the means to launch said spacecraft. ESA would find itself momentarily at the mercy of either Russia or America. This could potentially be a burden to (as an example) America if a project akin to ISS (Deep Space Gateway anyone?) required a few sizable components to launch out of their spaceport (also there's the Webb's situation if you think about it).You talk of not belittling the issues of the people there, and then appear to do the reverse in your second paragraph by making insensitive remarks by talking as if the local people might turn into some savage mob bent on destruction.
....but, ultimately, this is one example of why depending on international partners can be a liability.
@Arianespace letter to Fr Guiana politicians asking that 3+ wks of roadblocks be ended was badly received. Traffic open only till Monday.
Europe's spaceport: Given Guiana strike, Arianespace return to ops before early May looks unlikely, & even that is optimistic at this stage.
Quote@Arianespace letter to Fr Guiana politicians asking that 3+ wks of roadblocks be ended was badly received. Traffic open only till Monday.https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/852841297551532032QuoteEurope's spaceport: Given Guiana strike, Arianespace return to ops before early May looks unlikely, & even that is optimistic at this stage.https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/852842857559990272
Quote from: FutureSpaceTourist on 04/14/2017 12:09 pmQuote@Arianespace letter to Fr Guiana politicians asking that 3+ wks of roadblocks be ended was badly received. Traffic open only till Monday.https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/852841297551532032QuoteEurope's spaceport: Given Guiana strike, Arianespace return to ops before early May looks unlikely, & even that is optimistic at this stage.https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/852842857559990272Might this be a good time for ESA to start looking around for a less-unfriendly location for their next spaceport? Looks like this one's become unreliable (to the point of needing a backup, at least).
Might this be a good time for ESA to start looking around for a less-unfriendly location for their next spaceport? Looks like this one's become unreliable (to the point of needing a backup, at least).