From June through last month, I had been working with a bunch of young Ukrainians in Kiev (men and women). I suspect that some of them have enlisted. And the Russians are protesting the war in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Little-known fact: He was a big fan of space. He was on the board of The Space Foundation. He never used email, but I sent some stuff to him once via his wife, and he wrote a nice letter thanking me.
By the time Europe could develop its own crew launcher, it would be past obsolete (just as Ariane 6 is). They should be focusing on getting around in space with their own vehicles, not getting there.
I’ve noticed that in public-policy areas in which we do a crap job of risk assessment/tradeoffs, it is areas in which there are policy agendas independent of the actual issues.