One of the challenges of seeing a launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California is actually seeing the launch. A layer of low cloud often rolls in from the Pacific Ocean, causing rockets to disappear a few seconds after takeoff. Such was the case on May 28, when a Falcon 9 launched EarthCARE, an Earth science spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency.
“We saw the start and of course you hear the sounds. Then you keep looking at the screen,” says Josef Aschbacher, Director General of ESA. “But it doesn’t matter whether you see it or not. The most important thing is that the satellite was delivered safely.”
Aschbacher was in California, rather than French Guiana, for the EarthCARE launch because of what he has often called the “launch crisis,” which forced ESA and the European Commission to turn to SpaceX to support science missions such as EarthCARE and Galileo navigation satellites. launch. Development delays, launch failures and geopolitics combined to deprive Europe of its own means of accessing space.
However, the skies are starting to clear for Europe. The first flight of the Ariane 6 is now scheduled for the first two weeks of July. On the same day as the EarthCARE launch, Avio, prime contractor for the Vega C rocket, successfully tested a redesigned solid rocket motor, a step toward getting that vehicle flying again by the end of the year.
Aschbacher attended the launch days after a series of events in Brussels, including a Space Council meeting involving ESA and European Union member states. ESA also announced the first signatories of its Zero Debris Charter to promote space sustainability and selected two companies, Thales Alenia Space and The Exploration Company, for contracts to research commercial cargo vehicles that could be the forerunners of European manned spacecraft .
Aschbacher spoke with SpaceNews a few hours after EarthCARE’s launch and discussed the launch as well as other important developments at ESA. An abbreviated version of that interview follows.
EarthCARE is the second mission ESA has launched on Falcon 9, after Euclid last year. What has the relationship with SpaceX been like?
Aschbacher: It worked very well. Last year we had a good experience with Euclid and now with EarthCARE. It’s really professional. Our teams and the SpaceX teams are working very well on all the different issues.
However, you should be relieved that the Ariane 6 is nearing its first launch.
Yes, it feels good, because I hear a lot of questions: why are you launching with Falcon and not with Ariane? At the Berlin air show [June 5–9] I will announce a target date for the first attempt of the inaugural flight, which will be in the first two weeks of July. This is getting really close and I can say we are well on our way.
What are the big milestones leading up to that launch?
We went through a very thorough qualification assessment and it has been completed. As with any evaluation, a number of actions are identified that need to be closed and this is currently ongoing. There is nothing that is a showstopper. Then there are the logistics in Kourou at the launch site and everything leading up to the launch campaign. This is all quite nominal. It’s still a lot of work, but there’s nothing that worries me right now that would make it impossible to launch within this two-week window.
How important was the Vega C static fire test that just took place?
This was very important. We can see that we are on track towards the return of flight by the end of the year. This test today was the most important milestone: we have another firing test in October, but today’s confirms that the nozzle redesign with the new carbon-carbon inserts is good. The measured thrust curve is nominal and follows the expected, theoretical line, which means that the engine is functioning properly.
ESA announced on May 22 that it has selected Thales Alenia Space and The Exploration Company for study contracts for its commercial cargo program. ESA
officials previously said they would award up to three contracts. Why choose only two?
The evaluation of the industrial proposals was very thorough, which we do for all aerospace hardware purchases. This has resulted in two companies exceeding the threshold required to issue a contract. So these are the two companies that signed last week. We had two others that were below this threshold and we’ve had a number of iterations with them. But even clarifying some of the questions we asked did not result in a proposal strong enough to confidently sign a third contract. It is important that we have competition, but this also shows that we are very solid and strict in selecting companies.
ESA also announced the same day that the first group of twelve countries had signed the Zero Debris Charter. What are the next steps in this effort?
The next round will take place at the Berlin Air Show, which will be open to companies and organizations. All in all we have about 100 expressions of interest. I don’t want to announce anything prior to that event, but I can tell you that we have some very interesting companies lining up for this signing. We would love to use this Zero Debris Charter to show that we are a champion of sustainability, not only on planet Earth, where we work extensively on climate-related issues, but also in space.
Are you concerned that the Zero Debris Charter could conflict with the proposed EU space law, which will reportedly have its own provisions regarding the sustainability of space travel?
You really should ask the European Commission about the space law. This is not something we are involved in. I don’t know the text of the law, so I can’t comment on what will be included. Naturally, we are very interested in reading and analyzing the text. The Member States have already asked us at ESA to analyze the text as soon as it is published and see what this means for companies in their country. There will certainly be an impact of space law on the way we develop programs. Things like standardization [of national space laws] will be crucial.
When you became Director General of ESA, you made improving relations with the European Commission one of your priorities. How much progress have you made and how has that impacted efforts like the IRIS² constellation?
In my Agenda 2025, I have made cooperation between ESA and the European Union a top priority. I worked as a staff member at the European Commission for a few years, so I know it very well, and I have worked with the Commission for decades to build Copernicus. For me, there is no other option than to ensure exceptional cooperation between the Commission and ESA. This is exactly what we do.
We have flagship programs such as Copernicus and Galileo that are actually only possible because ESA and the European Union work together. Without one or the other they wouldn’t exist, especially not in today’s quality, so there is no choice. There is an enormous need to work well together, so I am very committed to that.
IRIS² is next in line, but there are still some questions. The lead lies with the Commission to sign this first contract. We at ESA provide technical support and advice to the Commission in the evaluation of the proposals and subsequently in their implementation. We have about 600 million euros on the ESA side, in terms of our Member States’ budget, for its implementation, focusing on the development of technologies. The European Commission has also committed itself in an agreement to provide more than 300 million euros from their budget to ESA to ensure that this cooperation and implementation works well.
Overall, ESA currently implements around 80 percent of the EU space budget for Copernicus and Galileo, and I hope that, as we continue, we will be the executive agency of the EU space programmes. I will do everything I can to continue this for decades to come.
This article first appeared in the June issue of SpaceNews Magazine.