Small Space News Story Roundup 43

A couple of small stories mostly gathered from this week's Rocket Report with a common theme:

Ariane 6's First Flight Issue was in Software 

As was (slightly) covered in the First Ariane 6 flight wrap-up back in early July, while the mission was described as nominal there was a problem with the upper stage that affected the payloads the mission was testing with. The European Space Agency official stream later reported an issue with the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) which allows the upper stage Vinci engine to reignite.

In a Joint Mission Report, the ESA stated:

"The investigations included analyzing why re-ignition of the upper stage Auxiliary Propulsion Unit (APU) did not occur as planned at the beginning of the long coasting phase of Ariane 6’s inaugural mission. Analysis shows that one temperature measurement exceeded a pre-defined limit and that the flight software correctly triggered a shutdown, entering the long coasting phase without the APU thrust and so degrading the proceeding of the demo phase. As a consequence, the third ignition sequence of the Vinci engine was not ordered by the flight software."

The fix? They're going re-define that pre-defined limit to a value that will allow the final APU burn to be started. They go on to say, "there are no "showstoppers" that will delay a second flight of the vehicle." 

Eutelsat turns to Japan for launch needs

In a somewhat surprising announcement this week, Eutelsat said Wednesday it had signed a contract with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for multiple H3 rocket launches starting in 2027.  The French company is probably best known as a latecomer to the "Internet via satellites" sector that merged with OneWeb in 2023, but this doesn't appear to be aimed at this market segment. 

The previously announced launch contracts for OneWeb include 3D-printing company Relativity Space’s Terran R vehicle and the ESA’s Ariane 6, which have both experienced development delays. There is also some question as to whether the Ariane 6 rocket will have capacity given its existing manifest, including Project Kuiper launches for Amazon. Regardless, it's a big win for Mitsubishi, which has struggled to find commercial success with the new H3 booster.

Eutelsat spokesperson Katie Dowd said the agreement is focused on launches for the company’s upcoming satellites in geostationary orbit, but declined to provide more information.

It could simply be that Eutelsat is trying to keep all options open, perhaps having more than one launch vehicle available for a given payload. “Given that Amazon has acquired Ariane 6 rockets, if we wanted to use it in, say, 2027, are we going to fit into their launch manifest or not?” OneWeb CEO Eva Berneke said in an interview earlier this summer. 

While Eutelsat has worked with the European Space Agency in the past, they apparently are not part of the ESA.

Meanwhile, ESA officials complain about SpaceX some more 

Arianespace CEO Stéphane Israël recently gave an interview to the French publication Les Echos that has been shared by European Spaceflight. It sounds like the once-dominant commercial satellite launch firm, which has been run over by the SpaceX steamroller, is tired of being asked about the SpaceX steamroller. Israël said Europeans should "stop just comparing SpaceX and Elon Musk with Arianespace."

Why? ... His reasoning for this was that SpaceX is not just a launch company but one that controls a broader value chain that includes satellite manufacturing and operation through Starlink. “He competes against the entire space industry on his own,” said Israël. In order to compete with SpaceX, he explained, “the entire European space sector must be united and ambitious.” Israël identified Europe’s planned Iris² satellite constellation as a key project to ensure future competitiveness. “Our hopes rest on the Iris² constellation promoted by the European Commission,” he said. The future of this project, however, appears to be uncertain, especially after the sudden departure of Thierry Breton from the European Commission this week.

Sorry, Mr. Arianespace CEO, but that sounds like the problem is on the EU side, not the SpaceX side. Start with the part that goes, “the entire European space sector must be united and ambitious” and work on that.

So... why these three stories? Doesn't the total of the three imply Europe has lost their ability to conduct a space program?  The new rocket needs a fix - it doesn't sound big, but everyone thought it was fine before the last launch.  Going to Japan for H3 launches?  Implies the bigger Ariane rockets aren't ready or available.  Complaining about SpaceX? Is that just to get publicity in the EU? Or do they intend to start lawfare to cripple their competitor?  The one that just launched the Galileo satellites for the EU. As close to "national security missions" as the EU gets.