Arianespace's new agreement could address Europe's rocket crisis

"From mid-2023, we do not have guaranteed access to space for European launches," ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said in January.
Chris Young
An artist's impression of Orbex's Prime rocket at launch.
An artist's impression of Orbex's Prime rocket at launch.

Orbex 

It's well established that Europe has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to expanding its launch capabilities.

Earlier this year, for example, a panel commissioned by the European Space Agency (ESA) released a report warning that the continent is at risk of missing out on the next big tech boom — unless it channels more funds toward its space industry, that is.

Now, Europe's sole operational launch provider, Arianespace, has announced it has signed memorandums of understanding with Orbex and PLD Space, two ambitious rocket startups from the UK and Spain respectively.

The new agreements could go a long way to boosting Europe's space sector and they also go some way to addressing serious concerns regarding its current launch capabilities.

Arianespace signs MOUs with two promising European space companies

The MOUs are a promising step in the right direction of Europe's space sector, and they could help boost two of the most promising launch companies in the continent. Neither Orbex nor PLD Space has launched a rocket yet, though both have demonstrated key technologies.

In an interview with IE last year, former Orbex CEO Chris Larmour explained that the company's launch vehicle, called Prime, could reduce carbon emissions by 90 percent over other rockets. It does this thanks to the fact it uses bio propane.

Arianespace's new agreement could address Europe's rocket crisis
An artist's impression of a PLD Space rocket.

PLD Space, meanwhile, is on the verge of launching a reusable suborbital rocket, called Miura 1, from the southern coast of Spain for the first time.

That rocket will allow it to test technologies that will eventually be used on its orbital Miura 5 rocket. Miura 1 is currently on the launchpad. The vehicle's launch has been delayed due to high wind conditions, but it is expected to take flight any day now.

Addressing Europe's launch crisis

With the two new MOUs, Arianespace hopes to help bridge a gap best described by Director General Josef Aschbacher: "From mid-2023, we do not have guaranteed access to space for European launches, and this is a huge problem," he explained during the agency's annual media briefing in January.

This is because Arianespace will soon launch its Ariane 5 rocket for the 117th and final time. Its next-generation rocket, Ariane 6, has faced numerous delays, and it most likely won't fly until next year. It is also not designed to be partly reusable like SpaceX's Falcon 9.

Arianespace's partnership with Russia was also suspended following the country's invasion of Ukraine. Another smaller launch vehicle, Europe's Vega-C booster has been grounded since it failed on its second flight in December last year.

The hope is that Orbex and PLD Space will be able to start providing small satellite launch services soon. There's no guarantee that will happen. "I always say we're targeting next year, but it’s the one date I might get wrong," Larmour told IE last year. "It’s just the nature of the beast."

Still, Orbex began construction of the Sutherland Spaceport on the north coast of Scotland in May, and it has stated it aims to launch 12 times per year from the facility.

In a press statement, Orbex's current CEO Martin Coates said "this collaboration holds a lot of promise for the European launch market and we're excited to see where we can take this. We are clearly very pleased that Arianespace has chosen to work with Orbex. We already have a strong position in the emerging European microlauncher market and this cooperation could take us even further commercially."

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