The NSA has a strong competitor in the European Space Agency

Europe, with its European Space Agency, has a head start with its Russian and Chinese competitors, and it plans to launch two scientific missions with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket due to the interruption of the Russian Soyuz launchers from Kourou and the delay of Ariane 6, announced Thursday, October 20 its director general.

The European probes Euclid and Hera will be launched by the Falcon 9 launcher designed by Elon Musk’s company, said Josef Aschbacher at a press briefing after an ESA Council.

“This is a temporary measure we are taking because of the interruption of Soyuz launches, and while waiting for the ramp-up of Ariane 6,” whose inaugural flight has been delayed to the last quarter of 2023, he said.

Euclid’s probe will study the Universe’s expansion after its takeoff in 2023. It was initially planned to take off with a Soyuz rocket. The Hera probe, meanwhile, is scheduled to fly to the asteroid recently deflected by NASA (the Dart mission) in late 2024.

Already, in 2020, ESA launched a Sentinel-6 satellite of the European Earth observation program Copernicus with a reusable Falcon 9 rocket.

The schedule for the new Ariane 6 launcher, designed to succeed Ariane 5 and fulfill the missions previously performed by the Soyuz, was launched in 2014. Initially scheduled for 2020, the first flight of Ariane 6 has already had to be postponed by two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and development difficulties.

At the beginning of February 2022, the crisis in Ukraine cut short all European cooperation with Russia. It deprived the European space base of Kourou, in French Guyana, of satellite launches by Russian rockets.

A third mission, Earth Care, a satellite to observe the Earth’s atmosphere, was to leave with Soyuz. It will finally take off with the new European light launcher Vega-C at the beginning of 2024, Josef Aschbacher detailed.

The ExoMars mission, also suspended after the crisis in Ukraine, should have to wait until 2028 to take off, according to the new exploration program of the ESA, which will be submitted to the 22 Member States at the ministerial conference of the agency in late November.

“Today, we would have been exactly one month after the launch that was scheduled for September 20. But now we will have to wait, if the ministers decide to continue the project, until a launch in 2028 for a landing in 2030,” said David Parker, director of human and robotic exploration at ESA.

In March, Josef Asbacher had deemed impossible a launch of ExoMars “at least before 2026”.

The European Rosalind Franklin rover, designed to drill deep into the Martian soil in search of traces of extraterrestrial life, was to be deposited there with a Russian lander.

Several replacement options are under discussion, but a European solution is “preferred” at this stage, added David Parker.

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The NSA has a strong competitor in the European Space Agency

Home » The NSA has a strong competitor in the European Space Agency

Europe, with its European Space Agency, has a head start with its Russian and Chinese competitors, and it plans to launch two scientific missions with SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket due to the interruption of the Russian Soyuz launchers from Kourou and the delay of Ariane 6, announced Thursday, October 20 its director general. The European probes Euclid and Hera will be launched by the Falcon 9 launcher designed by Elon Musk's company, said Josef Aschbacher at a press briefing after an ESA Council. "This is a temporary measure we are taking because of the interruption of Soyuz launches, and while waiting for the ramp-up of Ariane 6," whose inaugural flight has been delayed to the last quarter of 2023, he said. Euclid's probe will study the Universe's expansion after its takeoff in 2023. It was initially planned to take off with a Soyuz rocket. The Hera probe, meanwhile, is scheduled to fly to the asteroid recently deflected by NASA (the Dart mission) in late 2024. Already, in 2020, ESA launched a Sentinel-6 satellite of the European Earth observation program Copernicus with a reusable Falcon 9 rocket. The schedule for the new Ariane 6 launcher, designed to succeed Ariane 5 and fulfill the missions previously performed by the Soyuz, was launched in 2014. Initially scheduled for 2020, the first flight of Ariane 6 has already had to be postponed by two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and development difficulties. At the beginning of February 2022, the crisis in Ukraine cut short all European cooperation with Russia. It deprived the European space base of Kourou, in French Guyana, of satellite launches by Russian rockets. A third mission, Earth Care, a satellite to observe the Earth's atmosphere, was to leave with Soyuz. It will finally take off with the new European light launcher Vega-C at the beginning of 2024, Josef Aschbacher detailed. The ExoMars mission, also suspended after the crisis in Ukraine, should have to wait until 2028 to take off, according to the new exploration program of the ESA, which will be submitted to the 22 Member States at the ministerial conference of the agency in late November. "Today, we would have been exactly one month after the launch that was scheduled for September 20. But now we will have to wait, if the ministers decide to continue the project, until a launch in 2028 for a landing in 2030," said David Parker, director of human and robotic exploration at ESA. In March, Josef Asbacher had deemed impossible a launch of ExoMars "at least before 2026". The European Rosalind Franklin rover, designed to drill deep into the Martian soil in search of traces of extraterrestrial life, was to be deposited there with a Russian lander. Several replacement options are under discussion, but a European solution is "preferred" at this stage, added David Parker.