Kranzberg Professor John Krige gave a presentation to His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and representatives from embassies and European industry during an event on December 16.  The occasion marked the 50th birthday of the European Space Agency (ESA).  Krige, with colleagues from the University of Palermo and the University of Rome, has led a multidimensional project on the history of ESA as part of the platform for reflecting on the agency’s past achievements and planning its future evolution.

In his talk, Krige highlighted the importance of intra-European cooperation with examples drawn from his recent book Fifty Years of European Cooperation in Space (Paris: Beauschesne, 2014) that summarizes the results of the previous project and brings the history up to date. Krige illuminates the crucial factors that enabled ESA to compete and collaborate with the U.S. from a position of strength while adapting to the changing demands of a new 21st century geopolitical world order. The book explores a history of political will, industrial development, and the consolidation of extensive scientific, technological, and managerial competencies.  Copies of Krige’s book were presented to key dignitaries.

Krige’s research focuses on the intersection between support for science and technology and the foreign policies of governments.  He has just co-edited, with Naomi Oreskes (Harvard), Science and Technology in the Global Cold War (MIT Press, 2014).

Photo: John Krige (right) with Franco Ongaro, Head of European Space Research and Technology Center in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, on December 16, 2014