Phase 1 was not completed until the end of 1991 and by then the political climate surrounding "Hermes" had changed considerably. The Iron Curtain had been lifted and the Cold War was ending. As a result, ESA decided to interject a year-long "reflection" period to examine if it still made sense for Europe to build its own space shuttle and space station or if new partners could be found to share cost and development. Officially, Phase 1 completed at the end of 1992, after a year of reflection.