By the beginning of next year, the industry is expected to submit designs for a European space freighter scheduled for 2028. “I plan to sign the contracts with the companies in the spring,” said the Director General of the European Space Agency Esa, Josef Aschbacher, to the German Press Agency in Berlin.
There should be a tender before Christmas in which Esa presents its detailed wishes for the space freighter. “But then we leave it up to the industry to propose it the way they think they can do it best,” Aschbacher said. It should be understood as a kind of call for a competition. “Then we’ll see who applies. I assume that we will receive numerous proposals, from which – depending on the quality – we will perhaps select two to three companies.” The first contracts are to be signed with the companies in the spring so that they can start developing the freighter. “It will only be about European companies,” said the Austrian.
However, a final financing decision will not be made until 2025, when the ESA Council of Ministers in Germany votes on the next three-year budget. For companies, participation is therefore associated with the risk that nothing will ultimately come of the project.
Aschbacher emphasized the relevance of the project to develop its own European space freighter, if possible by 2028: “We want to be a strong partner. And a strong partner is one that has something to offer, i.e. develops technology that can also be incorporated into other, larger programs can contribute.” Greater European autonomy in space technology will also promote the region’s industry.
Gerst praises the idea
The German ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst praised the idea: “Europe really acted very cleverly,” he told the dpa. Finally, it is not yet clear what is likely to happen after the end of operations for the ISS space station in 2030. “The best way to prepare for this is to develop an element that every player definitely needs – and that is transport,” he said. “Developing this now is very clever, because otherwise others will have a head start.”
It is also important that the space freighter is designed in such a way that it can also be expanded to transport people in the future. “This is a very important perspective,” said Gerst. “It’s good to see that the ESA member states have positioned themselves in this way and are well positioned for the future.”
