Europe and Russia aren't seeing eye to eye these days, so the European Space Agency is in a bit of a bind when it comes to launching its cargo to space The agency is considering a partnership with Musk's company.
The space agency is in preliminary talks with Musk's company to procure the company's services, a relationship it needs now that it has lost access to Russian rockets. Japan or India are being considered as suppliers of rockets by the European Space Agency. One of the back-up launches we are looking at is the one by SpaceX, according to the director general of the European Space Agency.
We haven't asked for a commercial offer yet but we are looking into this technical compatibility. It is necessary to make sure that they are suitable. It's not like riding a bus. The talks between the space agency and the company are still at an early stage, and relying on the company's launcher would only be a temporary solution, he said.
Russia's relationship with the U.S. and Europe has been damaged by the invasion of Ukraine. In February, the European Space Agency released a statement condemning the war and stating that it was assessing the consequences on each of their programs. The space agency ended its cooperation with the Russian space agency on a mission to Mars.
Russia retaliated against the European imposed sanctions by withdrawing its employees from the launch site and suspending cooperation with Europe on Soyuz rocket launches. The space agency has been relying on Soyuz rockets for medium lift launches and this put a strain on their upcoming launches. The EarthCARE mission was supposed to be launched on a Soyuz in September of 2023. The wake up call was that we have been too dependent on Russia.
In the wake of Russian rocket withdrawals, there are new partnerships that need to be forged. Russia stopped its rocket engine supply to the U.S. due to sanctions. In order to eliminate the need for Russian engines, a partnership was recently announced between the two companies. Until the new rocket is ready, the company will charter the Falcon 9 rockets to deliver its Cygnus spaceship to the International Space Station.
As alaunches are added to the schedule, it will be necessary to make the Falcon 9 rockets more accessible.
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