The head of the European Space Agency (ESA) insists that Italy’s move to independently develop its own rocket operations at a time when Italian space officials are considering the benefits of a possible hook-up with Elon Musk‘s Starlink in the satellite field does not mean Europe’s commitment to the ESA programme is weakening. Italy’s Avio (AVI.MI) is about to take over operations of the Vega C rocket on behalf of ESA, a development that entails removing the Italian-built rocket from Arianespace, Europe’s main launch operator. Rome, meanwhile, is evaluating potential supply accords with Starlink, Musk having indicated his readiness “to provide Italy the most secure and advanced connectivity.”
Speaking to Reuters, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher acknowledged that the space agency was observing the move “very carefully”. With the space race becoming more and more strategic and investments on the rise, he observed that it was his job “to underline the benefit to European countries of participating in European programmes rather than national ones.”
Reports of a potential role for Starlink in Italy began emerging within weeks of the European Commission’s announced funding for the much-anticipated IRIS² constellation, which is intended to offer secure communications for European governments and agencies. The design dimensions demand a “European approach” and “European programmes”, according to Aschbache.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has developed a strong relationship with Musk. The European Union is currently wrestling with how to counter Musk’s flurry of social media posts that have been harshly critical of some elected leaders and have sent shock waves through several capitals.
ESA recently had to turn to SpaceX to launch some European payloads. The Paris-based, 22-nation agency, founded 50 years ago to unify efforts in launchers and satellites, is entering a crucial year for re-building independent access to space after a series of setbacks. Its flagship, Ariane 6, staged a delayed first launch last July. A second launch, its first commercial mission, initially scheduled for the end of last year, had to be rescheduled for February. A further four will follow this year, one less than originally planned for. The missed launch involved a satellite for the EUMETSAT weather agency. Last year the agency announced plans to switch an upcoming satellite launch to SpaceX’s Falcon 9.
ESA has no further SpaceX launches in the pipeline beyond the deployment of Sentinel-6B in co-operation with NASA, which is funding the launch, ESA Director of Space Transportation Toni Tolker-Nielsen said.
“We only launched our satellites on Falcon 9 because we did not have Ariane 6 or Vega C available. Now that we (do) we will launch our satellites with these two launchers”, he said.
Vega C returned to space in December, having failed on its first commercial launch in December 2022. According to Toker-Nielsen ESA will perform four launches in 2025.
