Europe's Transition: From Ariane 5 to SpaceX's Help

Europe, facing a temporary gap in its launch capabilities, plans to rely more on SpaceX to launch key science and navigation spacecraft while working to restore its own launch capabilities. The Ariane 5's successor, Ariane 6, is still in development and unlikely to be ready before 2024, while the Vega C remains grounded after a launch failure. European missions such as Euclid and EarthCARE have been moved to SpaceX's Falcon 9, and negotiations are underway for the launch of Galileo satellites. European Space Agency Director General Josef Aschbacher sees this as an opportunity to develop a robust launcher system for Europe beyond Ariane 6 and Vega C.