In Europe, they are looking for a replacement for Russian missiles after breaking off relations with Roskosmos
The European Space Agency (ESA) is urgently looking for options to replace the Soyuz launch vehicle after breaking off relations with the Russian state corporation Roscosmos. The main competitor of the French Arianespace, which is still developing a new rocket, may be Elon Musk's private company SpaceX. Options for cooperation with India and Japan are also being considered. The decision will depend on when and how Arianespace's new Ariane 6 rocket is tested.
I would say that there are two and a half options that we are discussing. One of them is SpaceX, which is the most likely solution. Perhaps another is Japan, which is preparing the first flight of a next-generation rocket. Another option could be India
- ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said in an interview with Reuters.
Negotiations are currently underway with SpaceX, but changing the launch vehicle, as Aschbacher puts it, is "not the same as jumping on another bus." For example, the interface between the satellite and the launcher must be compatible, and the payload must not be compromised by unfamiliar types of launch vibration. While the ESA is studying the technical feasibility of using alternative vehicles to request a quotation.
For launching satellites into orbit and flights to the ISS, the European Space Agency used Italian Vega rockets, French Ariane 5 and Russian Soyuz for medium loads. The agency cooperated with Russia for 10 years. Immediately after the start of the special operation in Ukraine, the European Union imposed sanctions on the export of goods to Russia for aviation and space industry. In response, Roskosmos curtailed cooperation with ESA and stopped deliveries of Energomash rocket engines to the United States.
After NASA and ESA broke off relations with Roskosmos, Elon Musk, who owns the only private company in the world that produces cargo and passenger spacecraft, began to quickly master the vacant niche. His Falcon 9 SpaceX launch vehicle has become very popular, the number of contracts for its use has increased dramatically. Even Musk's SpaceX Starlink competitor, OneWeb, has scheduled at least one Falcon 9 launch. Northrop Grumman has ordered three Falcon 9 flights to deliver NASA supplies to the International Space Station.
The rupture of relations with Roskosmos, which led to a partial suspension of European space programs, was called by the ESA director general a "wake-up call." He called on the countries that are part of the European Space Agency to take measures to avoid such scenarios in the future.
This is a wake up call, we must hope that decision makers are as aware of this as I am, that we must really strengthen our European capacity and independence
Ashbacher says.
The ESA Director General said that the exact schedule for testing the new European launch vehicle Ariane 6 will be known in October. Only then will ESA finalize the contingency plan, which will be presented to the ministers of the agency's 22 countries in November.
The conflict in Ukraine has demonstrated that the decade-long strategy of cooperation between Europe and Russia in the field of gas supplies and other areas, including space, is no longer working, the head of the ESA believes. At the same time, Ashbacher was skeptical about the statement of the new head of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, about Russia's withdrawal from the ISS work program after 2024.
We depend on each other, whether we like it or not, we have little choice.
- ESA Director General assessed relations with Russia in the field of space exploration.
- Alexander Grigoryev
- https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Falcon_9_and_Dragon_Vertical_at_Pad_39A_%2832945170225%29.jpg
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