Launcher setbacks
Esa warns of a serious crisis
In view of setbacks in their launch vehicles, the European space agency Esa sees an acute problem. “We are in a serious crisis in the European launch vehicle sector,” said Esa at the request of the German Press Agency in Paris.
Published: 8 minutes ago
In view of setbacks in their launch vehicles, the European space agency Esa sees an acute problem. “We are in a serious crisis in the European launch vehicle sector,” said Esa at the request of the German Press Agency in Paris. (archive image)
This began almost a year ago when Russia decided to withdraw its Soyuz rockets from the European spaceport in Kourou in French Guiana. In addition, the first flight of Ariane 6 was delayed until the last quarter of this year. In late December, the Vega C went off course on its first commercial flight.
Despite the problems, Esa emphasized: “Access to space is not at stake.” The priority now is to quickly and reliably secure the first flight of Ariane 6 and the operational readiness of Vega C.
Vega C and Ariane 6 are intended to make Europe’s space flight more competitive and are therefore extremely important. Ariane 6 is the successor to Ariane 5, which has been in service since 1996. It is now scheduled to fly for the first time three years late. The Vega C is a further development of the Vega rocket, which has been launching light satellites into space since 2012.
(SDA)