European Micro Launchers: A New Key Point to Space?
Space has always been a topic of curiosity for travelers and explorers. Human pursuit in exploring and conquering space has resulted in new technology development, which only broadened humankind’s scientific knowledge.
Today, both risk reduction and financial support are in favor of private space companies. Also, thanks to the European micro launcher industry, private companies have started getting involved in space exploration after NASA issued the Authorization Act of 2010.
Open contracts are aimed to encourage private companies and help them develop new technologies, infrastructure, software, hardware, and micro launcher rockets. NASA has already spent billions of dollars to encourage private space sector development.
Development of Micro Launchers in Europe
Europe has always been a key player in space exploration. Any company that wishes to launch its satellite will have to either use Vega or Ariane developed by the ESA. But, with micro launcher industry development, companies can launch any satellites weighing less than 400 kg at an affordable cost.
Along with other technological innovations, Europe attributes its recent advancements in space exploration to the declining price of hardware and micro launchers availability.
Micro launchers were heavily involved in Galileo and Copernicus projects. Europe is well aware that, to be a core contributor of space exploration, it will have to invest heavily in building space infrastructure and designing micro launchers.
European Micro Launcher Market
Another great aspect of the micro launcher Europe market is, this continent has encouraged small satellite companies to take out insurance. However, there are still companies that rely on constellations. Because of the high number of satellites at their disposal, they can easily switch a defunct satellite, replacing it with an operational one. The insurance for launch is also expected to drop to only 4%. Micro launchers are one of the reasons behind this dropping trend.
If you consider CubeSats, they are too small to fill up the payload weight for any standard launcher. This poses a great problem for micro satellites launch schedule. Even if a CubeSat is ready to be launched, it might have to be rescheduled for a later date because a large launcher is not done filling its payload capacity.
Today, many European companies are developing micro launchers to meet the growing demand for placing satellites into required orbits. Launch flexibility and quick pre-launch preparation are not the only reasons why European micro launchers should soon be in great demand. Today’s satellites can weigh as little as 50 kg, while an average launcher can carry 300 kg and more. This means that rocket developers will be able to offer rideshare missions, launching several satellites from several different clients. This, in turn, would reduce the launch costs for the end payer, which means that more private companies and research organizations will be able to send their own satellites to space.
ESA’s Support of Private Space Industry Development
European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, EU and all its member states, as well as the European Space Agency, are the key bodies in Europe. The agency understands the potential of the space industry and is actively supporting private and government projects in this niche. For example, works by the EU include Rosetta and BepiColombo projects development. They were also involved in developing MeteoSat and other leading micro satellites for different telecommunication companies.
According to a roadmap, the EU wishes to invest way over $12 Billion in its space industry. This is the second-largest budget allocated for space exploration. It wishes to exploit its existing space infrastructure, including Copernicus and Galileo. European Government bodies have also sanctioned many launch pads for micro launchers, where private companies can test their micro rockets before their actual take-off.
Along with funding launch pads for testing new rockets, the ESA is also funding feasibility studies for the development of cheap micro launchers. The EU is also bringing together all companies interested in space exploration and educating them on how they can access space at a low cost using micro launcher space rockets.
This is only a small part of the Space 4.0 strategy undertaken by ESA. According to this strategy, ESA will encourage the development of micro launcher vehicles and boost overall industry involvement. As part of the plan, many private companies are coming forward and developing their technology for the next micro launcher rocket generation.
As many more launch providers are searching for ways to offer their clients a competitive advantage, the demand for micro launcher tech will only increase. And, while heavy launchers will probably remain relevant, one can certainly predict that the future of payload deliveries will rely on micro launchers.