Europe’s Commercial Cargo Experiment Begins

The European Space Agency is taking a page out of NASA’s playbook. On May 22, ESA announced €25M ($27.1M) contracts to two companies, German startup The Exploration Company and incumbent Thales Alenia Space Italy, to create cargo capsules meant to transport resources to and from future space stations.

While ESA’s announcement doesn’t mention it, the agency’s cargo program is the spiritual successor to NASA’s Commercial Cargo Program. The U.S. civil space agency had great success cultivating commercial replacements for the Space Shuttle, restoring cargo transport in 2012, a year after the shuttle retired. For ESA, the new program could end a gap in cargo capability that began in 2014 after the retirement of the Automated Transfer Vehicle.

The initial ESA contracts are development funds meant to aid the companies in demonstrating their vehicles with missions to the International Space Station between 2028 and 2030. Precedent suggests ESA's timetable is feasible, but aggressive. It took SpaceX six years (2006-2012) and Orbital Sciences (now Northrop Grumman) five years (2008-2013) to complete their first cargo runs to the ISS. ESA’s contenders have 5.5 years to reach the ISS, with the real possibility that if they are late, the ISS will have de-orbited. Both companies have some experience with cargo vessels – TAS Italy through its contributions to Cygnus and ISS modules, and The Exploration Company through its founder Hélène Huby’s involvement in the Orion capsule.

We were slightly surprised to see ESA only select two winners when it previously described the program as open to three. It appears that two other contenders didn’t make the cut. ESA didn't name them, but most likely they were ArianeGroup’s SUSIE (Smart Upper Stage for Innovative Exploration) and RFA Space’s Argo. That’s not necessarily the end of the road for either. NASA originally chose a company called Rocketplane Kistler for cargo missions but swapped them for Orbital Sciences when funding delays became apparent. For ESA, it’s probably a source of comfort to know there are other contenders besides the two it chose, should the agency need backups.

Ultimately, Europe’s cargo program is good news for commercial space station companies. A diversity of suppliers should yield lower costs while also providing redundancy in case one or more vehicles have anomalies. Now, we just need those space stations to launch.

SOURCE: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/ESA_signs_contracts_for_commercial_space_cargo_return_service