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Spacepolicyisanissueareaofparticularstrategicrelevance. Itreceivesaconstantly growingattentionbynationalgovernmentsandtheEuropeanUnion. Ittouches numerousimportantareaslikesecurity,science,technology,knowledge,infor- tion,mobility,environmentorresourcemanagement,tonameonlyafew. Through this,spacepolicydrawsfrombutalsodrivesthemostdecisiveaspectsofmodern society. Anillustrationforthisstatementcanbegivenwithabrieflookonrecent developmentsinspacepolicy. InparticulartheadoptionoftheEuropeanSpace PolicyinMay2007,whichhadbeenjointlypreparedbytheEuropeanSpaceAgency andtheEuropeanCommission,doeshaveatremendousimpactonareasbene?ting fromspaceapplications,likeclimateresearch,disastermanagementorresource management. TheEuropeanSpacePolicywillalsopushareaslikenavigationor telecommunications,whichareattheheartoftheknowledgesocietyandtheme- issueofmobility. Atthesametime,securityinallitsfacetsisgrowinglydependingon theuseofspacecapabilitiesandspacepolicymakinghasstartedtore?ectthis. Onthe globallevel,theinitiativesforroboticandhumanspaceexplorationgainmoreand moreprominenceandwithactorslikeChina,arenaissanceofspaceasastrategictool forinternationalprestigeandin?uencecanbeobserved. Thecharacterofspacepolicyandthedynamisminthis?eldanditsrelatedareas makeitappropriateandevennecessarytosurveythis?eldonacontinuousbasiswith ahighstandard. ThisreasoningwasthebasisfortheinitiativebytheEuropeanSpace PolicyInstitute(ESPI)topreparetheYearbookonSpacePolicy. TheYearbookis intended to become the reference publication for the analysis of space policy developments. ThescopeisglobalbuttheperspectiveisEuropean. Thiscoincides withESPI?smissiontobethefocalpointforEuropeanresearchinthe?eldofspace policyasprovidedforbythedecisionoftheCounciloftheEuropeanSpaceAgency tofoundESPI. Asathinktank,ESPIhastoprovideinformationandanalysisandto contributefacilitating the decision-making process. The Yearbook isaimed to becomea?agshipinESPI?sproductlineapproachingthisgoal. Theaspirationis thattheYearbookonSpacePolicymaygainthestatureofcomparableyearbooksin internationalrelationsbyleadingthinktanksaroundtheworld. TheYearbookonSpacePolicyhasanumberofspeci?cfeatures. Thereporting periodwillusuallybefromJulytoJune,leadingtoitspublicationinthebeginningof thefollowingyear. Forthis?rstedition,thereportingperiodwassettostartearlier (from1January2006)butstopatthetypicaldate(30June2007). Thisservesthe purposetocoverthewholeyear2006. TheYearbookwillhavethreeparts. The?rst partispreparedbyESPIandprovidesasystematicanalysisofthemainspace v Preface activitiesintheglobalpoliticalcontext. Itcontainsapresentationofthemajor developmentsinspacepolicies,programmesandtechnologiesaroundtheworld. In thesecondpart,usuallyaroundtenprominentresearcherscontributearticlesto speci?ctopicsofparticularrelevance. Inthiseditiontheyarerelatedtoinitiativesand decisionsinEuropeanspacepolicies asindicatedinthisyear?smottoofthe YearbookbutalsoglobalissuesliketherecentChineseantisatellitetestorthenew Japanesespaceregulation. ThethirdpartoftheYearbook,againpreparedbyESPI, contains a unique compilation of important facts and ?gures. It includes achronology,anoverviewonspaceactivitiesinselectedcountriesandabibliography. TheprojectofacomprehensiveYearbookrequiresthecooperationofthewhole community. ThisiswhyESPI?sworkforthispublicationiscomplementedbythe contributionsofexternalauthorsprovidingtheirexceptionalinsightsandexperiences. ThesecontributorsfromalloverEuropearetheleadingacademicexpertsmainlybased inthinktanksanduniversityinstituteswhilesomearealsoassociatedwithspace agenciesorworkinindustryorresearchanddevelopment. Theyarepartofthe EuropeanSpacePolicyResearchandAcademicNetwork(ESPRAN)coordinatedby ESPI. ItisimportanttomentionthatalsoexpertsfromoutsideEuropecanbepartof thisnetwork. ThisishighlightedbythecontributionofJohnLogsdon(George WashingtonUniversity,WashingtonDC),oneofthedoyensinspacepolicyresearch. Invo

The Yearbook on Space Policy aims to be the reference publication analyzing space policy developments. Each year it presents issues and trends in space policy and the space sector as a whole. Its scope is global and its perspective is European.