Europe Reluctantly Chooses SpaceX to Launch Its GPS Satellites::Elon Musk’s SpaceX is set to undertake its first launch of European satellites equipped with classified technology, specifically for the Galileo system.
Europe Reluctantly Chooses SpaceX to Launch Its GPS Satellites::Elon Musk’s SpaceX is set to undertake its first launch of European satellites equipped with classified technology, specifically for the Galileo system.
In 20 years, the EU have spent 10 billion in taxpayer money to send only 26 satellites to orbit (almost 400 million each). A SpaceX Falcon 9 can send almost 10 Galileo satellites to MEO at once for 62 million. So the question is not why they are hiring SpaceX now but why haven’t they used SpaceX before?
(Falcon 9’s capacity to MEO is 8,000 kg, and the typical Galileo satellite weighs 738 kg).
Because the goal of the government isn’t to turn a profit. Ideally, government funded needs should be used to create jobs in the country or region that government is in charge of.
If everyone switched to SpaceX for their launches, then they’d be handing a monopoly to Elon, and nobody wants that. Instead they need to be funding their own space program and drive down the costs to be competitive with SpaceX so they can be self sufficient.
It’s a problem that they need to use SpaceX right now, for several reasons.
Because it’s controlled by a lunatic
ESA has its own launch capability x and is choosing SpaceX anyway. The lunatic thing must not be a big deal.
Ariane 5 is retired. Ariane 6 isn’t ready yet. Vega is small. What medium-lift launch capacity do they have?
Ariane 6 is already obsolete.
The launch costs of Galileo satellites were much cheaper than 400 millions per satellite. The budget you mention covers the global development, deployment and continuous operation of the project.
They used ariane 5 rockets to send 2 satellites at a price tag of 150-200 million. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariane_5#:~:text=Total launch price of an,million as of January 2015
Compare that with the price of a Falcon 9.
Except they launched them 4 at a time on Ariane 5 (which has similar capacity as falcon, so doubtful they would launch much more at a time with space, also it was available at the time of the start of the project…), and two at a time on the cheaper Soyouz. Also, it’s way better to pay even 200 million (more likely less than 150 millions) to domestic companies to boost your own economy than to pay 70 million to your number one competitor…
SpaceX is still overall bleeding money, kept afloat by more suckers buying into it as well as the US government overpaying for launches.