Eumetsat, the operator of European weather satellites, has cancelled the launch of its MTG-S1 satellite by the Ariane 6 rocket in favour of the American SpaceX, a setback for the European launcher less than two weeks before its inaugural flight, reports “Le Monde”. Contacted by AFP on Friday, Eumetsat was not immediately available, while Arianespace, the company responsible for operating and marketing Ariane 6, did not comment.
According to “Le Monde”, the Eumetsat executive committee asked the board of directors representing the 30 member states to choose SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, canceling the contract signed with Arianespace four years ago. The MTG-S1 satellite was due to embark on the third Ariane 6 flight in early 2025. The reasons that pushed Eumetsat to change tack and choose the American rocket are not specified. Ariane 6 is scheduled to make its inaugural flight from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou on July 9, four years late.
Reacting on Linkedin, the CEO of CNES, the French space agency, Philippe Baptiste, deplored “a sudden change, because the flight was supposed to take place very soon” and “a very disappointing day for European space”. “I look forward to understanding the reasons that could have led Eumetsat to such a decision, while all the major European space countries, as well as the European Commission, are calling for the launch of European satellites on European launchers,” he said.
“How far will we Europeans go in our naivety?” Philippe Baptiste continues, calling on the European Commission to take “the necessary measures to ensure that all European institutional satellites are launched on small and large European launchers.”
Before this disappointment, Ariane 6, whose planned rate is 9 launches per year, had 30 flights in its order book. It must give Europe independent access to space again in the face of the juggernaut SpaceX which plans 144 Falcon 9 launches this year.
