Difficult situation for Europe: last Ariane 5 rocket launched

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Europe’s last Ariane 5 launcher has launched into space – but that’s no cause for celebration for European space travel. Because after the launch of the rocket on Thursday evening from the European spaceport in Kourou in French Guiana, Europe now lacks the resources to launch large satellites into space. And there are also problems with the lighter satellites at the moment.

In its long history, Ariane 5 quickly became the world market leader for the transport of telecommunication satellites and at the same time ensured Europe’s access to space. The launcher’s key missions included those with the James Webb telescope as Hubble’s successor (2021), the BepiColombo probe to Mercury (2018) and the Galileo satellites, which promote Europe’s independence in the field of enabled navigation.

Two satellites on board

As announced by the rocket operator Arianespace, the last Ariane 5 was launched with a German telecommunications satellite and a French military satellite on board. Arianespace is part of the ArianeGroup, in turn a joint venture between the European aerospace group Airbus and the French engine manufacturer Safran.

It was the 117th launch of Ariane 5 since 1997. The successor, Ariane 6, should have premiered three years ago. But the first flight of the rocket, which is intended to make European space travel more competitive, has been postponed several times. Meanwhile, the European space agency Esa is aiming for the start at the end of this year – and therefore with a delay of three years.

The crisis began with the war in Ukraine

The situation for Esa is difficult because the launcher for lighter satellites is also problematic. The newly inaugurated Vega C had a false start on its first commercial flight in December and is now grounded. “As of the middle of this year, we have not guaranteed Europe’s access to space with European launchers and that is a huge problem for all of us,” said ESA Chief Josef Aschbacher.

According to Esa, the crisis began almost a year ago when Russia decided to withdraw its Soyuz rockets from the European spaceport in Kourou in French Guiana during the war in Ukraine. It is not yet clear when exactly Esa wants to use the Vega C again. It is expected to start again later this year. The Vega C is a further development of the Vega rocket, which has been launching light satellites into space since 2012. (SDA)

Source: Blick