The European Space Agency (ESA) and Elon Muskʼs company have begun preliminary discussions about using SpaceX launch vehicles instead of Russian Soyuz rockets.
This is reported by Reuters.
“I would say we are discussing two and a half options. One is SpaceX, and understandably so. Another, perhaps, is Japan. Japan is awaiting the first flight of its next-generation rocket. Another option could be India. I would say that SpaceX is the most operational of them and of course it is one of the backup plans that we are looking at," said ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher.
He added that the negotiations remain at the study stage.
“We have to make sure they fit, of course. This is not the same as jumping on a bus," emphasizes the Director General of the European Space Agency. In particular, the interface between the satellite and the launcher must be suitable, and vibrations during launch must not compromise the payload.
"We are looking at technical compatibility, but we have not yet prepared a commercial proposal," Aschbacher said.
SpaceX did not respond to reportersʼ requests for comment.
According to the head of the European Space Agency, Russiaʼs war in Ukraine demonstrated that the ten-year strategy of Europeʼs cooperation with the Russian Federation in the supply of gas and other areas, in particular in the space industry, no longer works.
"It was a wake-up call that we were too dependent on Russia. I hope that the decision-makers realize, as I do, that we must really strengthen our European capacity and independence," stressed Josef Aschbacher.
- In July, the European Space Agency (ESA) stopped cooperating with Roskosmos in projects to study Mars. The head of the agency, Josef Aschbacher, said that the board of directors made this decision in connection with sanctions against Russia.