Whither the Grand Design?

This article reports that the sharp divisions that have opened up within the European Union (EU) since French and Dutch voters rejected the new EU constitutional treaty may force planners to scale back grand schemes for an expanded European space program, at least for now. The EU entered the space realm big time five years ago through a cooperation agreement with the European Space Agency and a white paper laying out a road map for future joint undertakings. The first of these, the Galileo satellite navigation system, is now in development.