SpaceX will launch four navigation satellites for the European Space Agency (ESA) amid continuing delays with local next-generation launch vehicles.
tech/spacex-signs-deal-to-launch-key-european-satellites-c3b5fc7c?page=1″>The Wall Street Journal He was the first to break the news. At the beginning of this summer, politician reported that the European Commission was looking abroad for a launcher for the Galileo satellites, although at the time the United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan system was also being considered.
SpaceX signed the agreement with ESA for two Falcon 9 launches in 2024, each with two “Galileo” navigation satellites. The deal is pending final approval from the European Commission and EU member states, which will likely occur before the end of the year, according to a WSJ report.
Europe would have preferred to use one of its own rockets, such as the long-delayed Ariane 6 or Vega-C, but was essentially forced to look further afield due to technical delays in these rocket development programs. Soyuz, Russia’s battle rocket, is also off the table due to that country’s ongoing war with Ukraine.
ESA is especially interested in bringing additional Galileo satellites online because they help maintain a European global satellite navigation system that is completely independent of that of the United States and China. The satellites, which contain classified equipment, are capable of transmitting encrypted navigation communications for the European military.
This will be the first time in fifteen years that Galileo satellites have been launched from outside Europe and the first time SpaceX will launch European satellites containing classified equipment. But this is not the first time SpaceX has worked with Europe: the company launched a Euclid telescope for ESA in July and will launch at least two other European spacecraft.
