The European competitor to the American GPS is gradually entering orbit. The Galileo satellite constellation, which offers positioning services, is already partially deployed. To date, around thirty satellites have been launched into medium orbit (23,000 km altitude) since 2015. Arianespace should launch ten new satellites between 2022 and 2025, bringing the constellation to 38 satellites.
And it is the American company SpaceX that should be in charge of placing the next four European satellites into orbit. According Wall Street JournalElon Musk’s company and the European Space Agency recently signed an agreement for two launches in 2024, each with two Galileo satellites, said Javier Benedicto, the agency’s navigation director. Both the European Commission and the Member States have yet to validate this agreement, but everything suggests that said validation will occur at the end of the year.
It may seem incongruous to use the American company’s Falcon 9 rocket to launch into orbit a technology that supposedly will give Europe strategic autonomy in terms of navigation and thus emancipate itself from American GPS technology. Furthermore, until now European officials have refused to turn to the Americans, preferring to use the Russian Soyuz launchers from the Kourou base, which are cheaper than those from Arianespace.
Amazon turns to Arianespace
But since the invasion of Ukraine, there is no longer the possibility for Europe to use Russian rockets. In addition, the European Ariane 6 launcher, which should have been the natural alternative to the Russian rockets, is experiencing a delay in ignition, common in the sector. Initially planned for 2020, the inaugural flight has been postponed several times and should not take place until 2024. Without a large rocket, Europe is forced to turn to an American company to launch its satellites. And not just any company, since it is Elon Musk’s that is in the crosshairs of the European authorities, in particular for the management of content on its social network X (formerly Twitter).
The truth is that Europe has no intention of trusting the American company in the future for its future launches once the Ariane 6 launcher is operational. A rocket that is already a commercial success, since thirty have already been ordered, particularly by Amazon, which intends to use the European launcher to put into orbit its own constellation of Kuiper satellites that Jeff Bezos’ company is deploying to compete… EspacioX.
Source: BFM TV
