European Parliament member demands cancellation of launch deal with SpaceX
Christophe Grudler, a member of the European Parliament (MEP) has written a letter to the government-run weather satellite company Eumetsat, demanding that it cancel its decision on June 26, 2024 to use a Falcon 9 rocket rather than the Ariane-6 on its next launch.
In a letter headlined “Request to reconsider launch decision in favour of European strategic interests”, Grudler disputes the decision of EUMETSAT, the intergovernmental European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, to choose America rather than Europe for launching its new satellite. He argues it goes against the principle of giving preference to Europe, something the organisation denies.
“I am writing to urgently request that you reconsider the recent decision to allocate the MTG-S1 satellite launch to a non-EU launch provider, and instead await the results of the inaugural launch of Ariane-6, which was your first choice for this satellite,” the Liberal member of Parliament wrote in a letter to the board.
…Grudler’s requests are threefold: “Cancel the last Council decision regarding a specific launcher solution, Await the inaugural launch of Ariane-6 before making any final decisions for MTG-S1; Reaffirm your dedication to European strategic autonomy by supporting European launch solutions”.
Eumetsat’s decision was clearly a financial one. SpaceX charges much less than Ariane-6, and its Falcon 9 rocket is proven and launching routinely. Ariane-6 won’t have its first launch until next week, on July 9th.
Grudler’s demands are purely political, but since the EU has generally been run top-down, letting politics and power determine its policy, he could force a cancellation of the contract. In the short term this will help ArianeGroup, a partnership of the aerospace companies Airbus and Safran that own Ariane-6, while hurting Europe’s weather satellite capabilities. In the long run it however might aid the growth of Europe’s new competing rocket startups, as it will provide them a guaranteed market. At the same time, having a guaranteed market by government fiat tends to limit competition and thus raise costs.
It appears that some politicians in Europe are still not sold on capitalism and freedom.
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In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
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Christophe Grudler, a member of the European Parliament (MEP) has written a letter to the government-run weather satellite company Eumetsat, demanding that it cancel its decision on June 26, 2024 to use a Falcon 9 rocket rather than the Ariane-6 on its next launch.
In a letter headlined “Request to reconsider launch decision in favour of European strategic interests”, Grudler disputes the decision of EUMETSAT, the intergovernmental European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, to choose America rather than Europe for launching its new satellite. He argues it goes against the principle of giving preference to Europe, something the organisation denies.
“I am writing to urgently request that you reconsider the recent decision to allocate the MTG-S1 satellite launch to a non-EU launch provider, and instead await the results of the inaugural launch of Ariane-6, which was your first choice for this satellite,” the Liberal member of Parliament wrote in a letter to the board.
…Grudler’s requests are threefold: “Cancel the last Council decision regarding a specific launcher solution, Await the inaugural launch of Ariane-6 before making any final decisions for MTG-S1; Reaffirm your dedication to European strategic autonomy by supporting European launch solutions”.
Eumetsat’s decision was clearly a financial one. SpaceX charges much less than Ariane-6, and its Falcon 9 rocket is proven and launching routinely. Ariane-6 won’t have its first launch until next week, on July 9th.
Grudler’s demands are purely political, but since the EU has generally been run top-down, letting politics and power determine its policy, he could force a cancellation of the contract. In the short term this will help ArianeGroup, a partnership of the aerospace companies Airbus and Safran that own Ariane-6, while hurting Europe’s weather satellite capabilities. In the long run it however might aid the growth of Europe’s new competing rocket startups, as it will provide them a guaranteed market. At the same time, having a guaranteed market by government fiat tends to limit competition and thus raise costs.
It appears that some politicians in Europe are still not sold on capitalism and freedom.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Look up “Dirigism” – it’s in their DNA
“Dirigisme or dirigism (from French diriger ‘to direct’) is an economic doctrine in which the state plays a strong directive (policies) role, contrary to a merely regulatory interventionist role, over a market economy As an economic doctrine, dirigisme is the opposite of laissez-faire, stressing a positive role for state intervention in curbing productive inefficiencies and market failures. Dirigiste policies often include indicative planning, state-directed investment, and the use of market instruments (taxes and subsidies) to incentivize market entities to fulfill state economic objectives.
The term emerged in the post-World War II era to describe the economic policies of France which included substantial state-directed investment, the use of indicative economic planning to supplement the market mechanism and the establishment of state enterprises in strategic domestic sectors. It coincided with both the period of substantial economic and demographic growth, known as the Trente Glorieuses which followed the war, and the slowdown beginning with the 1973 oil crisis.”
Not surprised by this. Senators and Reps here have done the same thing. I remember KC-X Tanker competition.
”Not surprised by this. Senators and Reps here have done the same thing. I remember KC-X Tanker competition.”
Ahhh, yeah. I remember that competition too. That was the one in which the USAF gave Northrop and Boeing different criteria and then judged both entries on the Northrop criteria. Probably the easiest protest the GAO ever upheld.
“Dirigisme or dirigism (from French diriger ‘to direct’) is an economic doctrine in which the state plays a strong directive…role, contrary to a merely regulatory…role, over a market economy.”
I was hoping Col Beausabre would bring this up again. I urge everyone to understand this concept. It goes by different terms — Tony Blair called it “third-way socialism” (other countries have other terms for it) — but it is central to how the European economy is run —and it is run much more so than the American economy.
Most European aerospace companies are either owned or controlled by their respective governments. In some cases they are owned outright. In other cases they’ve sold shares on a stock exchange, but the majority of the shares are owned by the government. In still other cases it’s a minority of shares, but another large block is owned by a bank or another company which is owned by the government, giving the government effective control. In a few cases the government has “divested” all shares except a “golden share” which gives the government effective control of the board.
What the Europeans want with dirigisme is “everyone pulling in the same direction.” They consider it kinder and more effective than chaotic American capitalism without the stifling control of having everything owned by a Russian state corporation (hence “third way”). In that sense they have more in common with the Chinese economy than the American economy.
By giving a contract to SpaceX, Eumetsat is not pulling in the same direction as the rest of Europe, so they are being slapped down. ESA gets away with it sometimes because they are used to being the junior partner to NASA. Not always but often enough to send a few launch contracts the Americans’ way without too many Europeans noticing that these are just launch contracts and not partnerships with NASA.
Looking at the bigger picture, this is why the Americans lead in all but the most established industries. If you have to wait until you have a continent-wide consensus to do anything, there’s always going to be an American somewhere who’s already done whatever you want to do before you get that consensus. Then you can either be a fast follower (but the Chinese have become faster followers than the Europeans), you use what are essentially government funds to buy established American companies (GE Americom, Intelsat, OneWeb), or you subsidize your way to dominance (Airbus, ArianeSpace before SpaceX).
It will be interesting to watch this play out.
mkent: A century ago Mussolini coined the term “fascism” for this exact philosophy. The left still loves it, but as is its habit, it needs to always find new names for their ideas in order to hide how terrible their ideas are.
Dictatorship turned into Communism.
I do believe communism works, But only for either a small group or a short time. But it does not work beyond the tribal level or longer than it takes to get the general economy running after a disaster.
As soon as you need specialists and or you move beyond the basics or food, shelter and security you need to drop communism.
The KC-46 has worked out soooo well.
BTW, Dirige is the root of dirigible – a “steerable” balloon or airship
Bob,
Eumetsat’s decision to go with SpaceX might have been based at least a bit on price, but I think it was mostly based on risk assessment. The MTG-S1 is a major investment for Eumetsat and that organization, understandably, wants to minimize launch risk to get it into GEO. MTG-S1’s original ride was to be on only the third launch of Ariane 6. But that launch was also to be the firstlaunch of the 64 variant of Ariane 6 with four strap-on solid boosters – the extra thrust being required to get heavy payloads like MTG-S1 into GEO. Ariane 6’s predecessor, Ariane 5, had good overall launch reliability, but it did have some failures and these all occurred early in its launch history.
The head of Eumetsat should probably reply to MEP Grudler’s missive by agreeing to his demand – but only if MEP Grudler can arrange for EP legislation to appropriate funds to cover any contract cancellation penalties and to cover the cost of a replacement satellite should the Ariane 6 launch go awry.
Dick Eagleson: Thanks for the additional details about that third Ariane-6 flight.
Just remember that America First is Dirigism too.
I don’t blame them at all for wanting European rockets for European payloads
Mr. Eagleson has a valuable insight into this development, as is invariably the case!
Note Bene: “Eumetsat’s decision to go with SpaceX might have been based at least a bit on price, but I think it was mostly based on risk assessment.” The risk is not just about *reliability*, but also schedule certainty. It is not just that Falcon 9 is as close to perfect as a human built launch vehicle can get (or has ever gotten), but that it is launching 3 times a week now. By 2025, it will likely be 4 times a week. In short, SpaceX Falcon operations are now a relentless juggernaut. Most of those launches are Starlink payloads. These can always be bumped for external paying customers. Bad weather might delay this launch a few days; a technical glitch *might* do the same. But they can feel high confidence that barring WW3 or an asteroid strike on Florida, SpaceX should be able to launch this Eumetsat payload within a fortnight of its NET date.
There is nothing remotely like that certainty with an Ariane 64. Eumetsat management has decided that these risks are no longer acceptable. They surely knew the political blowback they would get for this decision, and yet they took that decision anyway.
The United States did this to our maritime industry, with something called the Jones Act (Merchant Marine Act of 1920).
Under this law, US flagged vessels (commercial, generally ocean-going ships registered with the US) have to be built in the US and crewed by Americans. Cargo moved between US ports must be moved by US flagged ships. This of course creates a monopoly.
As a result of the Jones Act, American shipping has gotten expensive, and cargo that could go up and down the coast via ships is moved via road (less efficient, more manpower, causes congestion) and rail (requires tracks to be laid and maintained). Nearly all ships moving cargo to the US from other countries (or vice versa) are foreign flagged, even those owned by American companies. Meanwhile, all US warships are made by a small number of shipyards, after so many of the yards in the US failed as costs rose and shipbuilding went overseas.
Not all US ships are made in the US.
A very few are or were made outside the US.
The X band radar system. Norwegian designed and Russian build hull. Converted in Texas.
Originally built in the Vyborg ship yard for the Italian energy company Moss maritime. Then sold new to Boeing.
It was so big it had to go around South America because it could not get through the Panama canal.
Speaking about risk… all things considered the world needs some well defined space rescue protocols and pricing and reinsurance. For example if STS-107 had been properly inspected before the reentry decision and if the US had not given up it’s capsule capability and if we could have called on Russian assets then people could have been saved. SpaceX Dragon being demonstrated soon with space walk capability increases possible rescue use cases for ISS or any other place where humans are at risk in LEO. If we could work out an agreement with China and Russia all the better. No need for docking means no need for complex engineering and testing of a common component. Tethering in space needs more research and experience of course.
GeorgeC: It is my understanding that the docking ports of both the Russians and Americans are compatible, and have been since before ISS was launched. If I am wrong, then I’d appreciated some details from my readers.
The shuttle did not have any rescue options except a space walk for every passenger.
The only time they carried a docking attachment was those rides going to the space station. They could only dock inside the cargo area so they needed a long L shaped docking tube.
The Space X capsules both the passenger and cargo are sized for 7 passengers. NASA did not trust the three over four configuration so it was limited.. It can be reconfigured for 7 very quickly if need be and launched. But I bet they can find a way to reconfigure it in space.