ABSTRACT
In 1979 both France and West Germany withdrew suddenly from the European Space Agency's multipurpose telecommunications satellite project 'HSAT' (later known as L SAT thereby marking the end of a common European satellite policy and a return to the pursuit of individual national ambitions. The Franco-German withdrawal also emphasised the extent to which their joint consortium EUROSATELLITE Ltd, heavily supported by the state in each country, was likely to make the running in DBS initiatives in Western Europe.
