I missed the announcement that ESA signed a contract to launch Galileo satellites on SpaceX Falcon 9. I am wondering when ESA will contract with SpaceX to launch the Sentinel-1C satellite that is currently waiting for ArianeSpace to fix the Vega-C.
I heard from an ESA representative at the AGU meeting two weeks ago that ESA has signed a contract with SpaceX to launch Sentinel-1C on a Falcon-9, but they are far behind in the queue so it will not happen until late 2024.
Hmm. It was initially supposed to launch in 2023. But, if that representative is accurate, I have to think that ESA made the trades. Vega-C is unreliable--Falcon 9 is not. Vega-C is delayed until late 2024 anyway, so why not go with the reliable, less risky alternative?
It's too bad the industry has gotten to this point, though.
I missed the announcement that ESA signed a contract to launch Galileo satellites on SpaceX Falcon 9. I am wondering when ESA will contract with SpaceX to launch the Sentinel-1C satellite that is currently waiting for ArianeSpace to fix the Vega-C.
I heard from an ESA representative at the AGU meeting two weeks ago that ESA has signed a contract with SpaceX to launch Sentinel-1C on a Falcon-9, but they are far behind in the queue so it will not happen until late 2024.
Hmm. It was initially supposed to launch in 2023. But, if that representative is accurate, I have to think that ESA made the trades. Vega-C is unreliable--Falcon 9 is not. Vega-C is delayed until late 2024 anyway, so why not go with the reliable, less risky alternative?
It's too bad the industry has gotten to this point, though.
Yes, it is embarrassing that Europe does not have a working rocket until they fix Vega-C or successfully launch Ariane-6