Germany plans to boost funding for European Space Agency, says minister

BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany plans to significantly increase funding for the European Space Agency, with Research Minister Dorothee Baer set to pledge up to 5 billion euros ($5.76 billion) at the ESA's conference in the north-western city of Bremen next week.

"It will definitely be more than three years ago, when it was around 3.5 billion. If we now reach the 5-billion mark, that would be extremely positive," she told Reuters on Thursday.

The funding is part of a larger strategy on space security that the government presented on Wednesday, with plans to invest as much as 35 billion euros in coming years on space defence.

"We have been resting on a peace dividend for a very, very long time. That's why it's good and right that the strategic importance of space travel has now been so clearly recognized."

With a view to the upcoming conference, Baer also urged the ESA to be open to reform: What is needed is a mix of expensive, large-scale projects, like the Ariane rocket, and many smaller projects that rely more heavily on start-ups, she said.

You have to "think big", she said, referring to planned moon flights. "At the same time, there must be a great deal of flexibility so new players can also enter the market."

($1 = 0.8675 euros)

(Reporting by Andreas RinkeWriting by Miranda MurrayEditing by Madeline Chambers)