Europe wants to use Ilona Mask's missiles instead of Russian "unions"
An alternative to ECA considers Japan and India. "Japan is waiting for the first flight of its new generation rocket. Another option may be," Ashbacher commented. According to him, SpaceX of these capabilities is the most realistic option. At the same time, the CEO emphasized that the possibilities for launching spacecraft are still being studied in ECA. The agency is preparing to carefully analyze the technical compatibility of the launch vehicles before making a commercial offer.
As Ashbacher noted, the war in Ukraine demonstrated that cooperation with Russia, given the space sphere, no longer works. "It was an alarming call that we are too dependent on Russia," he added. Until recently, Europe has used the Italian VEGA missile for small cargoes, the Russian "Union" for the Middle and Ariane 5 for heavy. The final decision on the use of SpaceX missiles will depend on the not yet published schedule of launches of the new European missile Ariane 6.
At the same time, Ashbacher in conversation with Reuters suggested that Russia would leave the International Space Station (ISS). "We depend on each other, or not we like it, but we have no choice," he said. Journalists also write that the political consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine were favorable to SpaceX.
The American private aerospace enterprise was able to attract the attention of numerous customers who were forced to break the working ties of the space industry of the aggressor country. Yes, Roscosmos were engaged in the withdrawal of British Oneweb satellites this year. However, after the Russian full -scale invasion of Ukraine, Oneweb abandoned the services of the Russian space corporation in favor of SpaceX.