One of the biggest winners from the conflict in Ukraine has been Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which has received contracts from the European Space Agency for two additional launches that were originally going to be carried out by Roscosmos, the Russian space agency.
The Hera probe, a follow-up mission to NASA’s DART satellite, and the Euclid space telescope will both be launched by two SpaceX Falcon-9 rockets, according to the European Space Agency. The two launches were originally scheduled to take place on Russian Soyuz rockets.
After relations between Russia and the West deteriorated following President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, SpaceX was awarded the contracts. While the west imposed harsh sanctions on Moscow, Russia denied giving launch services to Europe, halting several missions including a joint mission to Mars.
Russian military modernization and space exploration were the targets of sanctions imposed by the US and Europe. The member states have decided that Euclid and Hera are planned to be launched aboard Falcon 9, according to ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher.
It is anticipated that the launches will occur in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
ESA had earlier hinted that India too was on its radar for its launch vehicles. ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher had said that there are two and a half options that they were discussing. ‘One is SpaceX, that is clear. Another one is possibly Japan. It is waiting for the inaugural flight of its next-generation rocket. Another option could be India,’ he had said.
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