The European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) has signed a new contract to launch second-generation Galileo navigation satellites using Europe\u2019s Ariane 6 rocket, reinforcing the bloc\u2019s push for independent access to space, the agency said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Under the agreement, the Ariane 6 launcher will deploy two Galileo L18 satellites. Ariane 6, developed as Europe\u2019s new heavy-lift rocket, completed its first mission last year and is central to EU efforts to reduce reliance on non-European launch providers for strategic space assets.<\/p>\n
The European Union has in recent years relied on SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, to launch several Galileo satellites after delays to European launch systems. Galileo provides Europe with its own global navigation and timing services, independent of the U.S. Global Positioning System.<\/p>\n
The new contract comes as the EU places greater emphasis on strategic autonomy in defence and security, a priority that has gained momentum since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year. While many European commercial satellite operators continue to use SpaceX because of its lower costs and higher launch capacity, EU institutions have increasingly stressed the importance of maintaining sovereign launch capabilities for critical infrastructure.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis signature with the European Commission and EUSPA underscores Arianespace\u2019s commitment to guaranteeing Europe\u2019s sovereign access to space,\u201d said David Cavaillol\u00e8s, referring to the launch services provider that will operate Ariane 6. He added that recent Galileo launches had demonstrated the rocket\u2019s suitability for high-precision missions.<\/p>\n
EUSPA Executive Director Rodrigo da Costa said the agreement builds on a first contract signed last year for Galileo\u2019s second generation and reflects the agency\u2019s expanding role, including responsibility for launch activities. \u201cIt reinforces our responsibility for delivering precise and reliable services while strengthening the Union\u2019s space autonomy for users worldwide,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The European Commission said the deal underlines Galileo\u2019s role as a pillar of European strategic independence. \u201cThe Galileo programme is a cornerstone of Europe\u2019s strategic autonomy,\u201d said Timo Pesonen, Director-General for Defence Industry and Space. \u201cThis new launch contract confirms our commitment to a robust, secure, and fully European navigation system.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) has signed a new contract to launch second-generation Galileo navigation satellites using Europe\u2019s Ariane 6 rocket, reinforcing the bloc\u2019s push for independent access to space, the agency said on Tuesday. Under the agreement, the Ariane 6 launcher will deploy two Galileo L18 satellites. Ariane 6, developed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19947,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[260,498,244,1060,5958,1397,5959,5960],"class_list":["post-19944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-ariane-6","tag-arianespace","tag-europe","tag-european-commission","tag-european-union-agency-for-the-space-programme","tag-galileo","tag-satellite-launch","tag-space-autonomy"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19944"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}