Still, I can't help but wonder if this is ESA's way of assuring they have a plan B for the post-ISS age in case Russia's manned space program goes belly-up.
The European Space Agency is actively working with China with the goal of placing a European astronaut on the Chinese space station as part of a relationship that is likely to grow now that ESA governments have made China one of three long-term strategic partners for the agency, ESA Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain said Jan. 16.
Lame. The EU is passed by the Chinese. The inane non-existant manned space progress plus the all solid Ariane 6 will drive a stake through all EU space efforts. In 10 years people will be discussing how the EU could have fallen from the premier commercial space launch provider to irrelevance.
This forum needs a user-ignore function.