The European Space Agency's director general says it's crucial to rebuild Europe's access to space following the botched launch of a European rocket carrying two Earth observation satellites last year and the delayed introduction of the Ariane 6 launcher.
The European Space Agency Director General Josef Aschbacher speaks during a panel discussion at the 15th European Space Conference 2023 in Brussels, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023. Aschbacher says he wants to rebuild Europe's access to space following the botched launch of a European rocket carrying two Earth observation satellites last year and the delayed introduction of the Ariane 6 launcher.
The launch of Vega C was meant to take two Earth observation satellites made by Airbus, Pleiades Neo 5 and 6, into orbit. The satellites would have been part of a constellation capable of taking images of any point on the globe with a resolution of 30 centimeters . The maiden flight of the medium-to-heavy Ariane 6 rocket was planned for mid-2020 but following several delays its first launch is not expected before the fourth quarter of this year.
Until proper access to space is regained, Aschbacher said Europe needs to look at alternative solutions outside the continent.
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