(MENAFN) According to ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, the European Space Agency (ESA) is considering Elon Musk's SpaceX as a solution to close the launch gap caused by Europe's separation from Russia's Roscosmos.
Aschbacher stated that the ESA had already started preliminary technical discussions with the space company, which could temporarily provide its launchers, in an interview with Reuters that was published on Friday. After imposing sanctions on Moscow for its ongoing military operation in Ukraine, Europe was no longer able to access Russian Soyuz rockets.
Alongside Japan and India, Space X has emerged as a major contender to close the gap. The final choice, according to Reuters, will be based on the unresolved timeline for Europe's stalled Ariane 6 rocket.
“I would say there are two-and-a-half options that we’re discussing. One is SpaceX, that is clear. Another one is possibly Japan,” Aschbacher informed the source, highlighting that Tokyo is still waiting for the initial flight of its next-generation rocket.
Although he noted that discussions are still in the exploratory stage because many technical details need to be looked into, Aschbacher claimed that SpaceX was the more operational of the competitors and would most likely be one of the "back-up launches" the ESA would consider.
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