ESA fills its coffers by testing launch vehicles. The European Space Agency's (ESA) European Launcher Challenge program received significant financial commitments from its member states during the agency's Ministerial Council meeting last week. European space mission reports. The competition aims to support emerging European rocket companies, while also giving ESA and other European satellite operators a better opportunity to compete with the continent's only operational launch provider, Arianespace. As part of the program, ESA will purchase launch services and will jointly finance capacity upgrades with the winners. ESA member states committed €902 million, or $1.05 billion, to the program at a recent Ministerial Council meeting.
Pre-selection of competitors … In July, ESA selected two German companies—Augsburg Aerospace and Rocket Plant Isar– together with Spain's PLD Space, France's MaiaSpace and Britain's Orbex to move to the next stage of the initiative. ESA then negotiated with each company's home governments to raise money to support these efforts. Germany, with two companies on the shortlist, is unsurprisingly a large contributor to the program, contributing more than 40 percent of the total budget. France contributed almost 20 percent, Spain almost 19 percent and the UK almost 16 percent. Norway paid 3 percent of the project's launch budget. Denmark, Portugal, Switzerland and the Czech Republic contributed smaller amounts.
Europe at the service of South Korea. South Korea's last Earth observation satellite was delivered into sun-synchronous orbit on Monday afternoon after being launched aboard Arianespace's Vega C rocket. Spaceflight Now reports this.. The Korean Multipurpose Satellite-7 (Compsat-7) mission launched from the European spaceport in French Guiana. Approximately 44 minutes after launch, the Compsat-7 satellite was launched into the MTR at an altitude of 358 miles (576 kilometers). “With the launch of Kompsat-7, a satellite designed to significantly expand South Korea's Earth observation capabilities, Arianespace is proud to support the nation's ambitious space program,” David Cavioles, CEO of Arianespace, said in a statement.
Something of a rarity … The launch of Kompsat 7 is something of a rarity for Arianespace, which dominates the international commercial launch market. For the first time in more than two years, Arianespace has launched a satellite for a customer outside Europe. The Vega C lightweight rocket's inventory is almost entirely filled with payloads for the European Space Agency, the European Commission or national governments in Europe. Arianespace's larger Ariane 6 rocket has 18 launches planned for Amazon's US broadband network Leo. (presented by EllPeaTea)
The South Korean homemade rocket has taken flight again. South Korea's Nuri space rocket launched Nov. 27 from Naro Space Center carrying the CAS500-3 Technology Demonstration and Earth Observation Satellite and 12 smaller CubeSat payloads. This was reported by the Yonhap news agency.. The 200-ton Nuri rocket debuted in 2021 when it failed to reach orbit during a test flight. Since then, the rocket has successfully entered orbit three times. The mission marked the first time Hanwha Aerospace observed the entire assembly process as part of the government's long-term plan to transfer space technology to the private sector. The fifth and sixth launches of the Nuri rocket are planned for 2026 and 2027.
