Failure to Launch - Europe’s Threat to Independence

Recently, the European Space Agency (ESA) has faced several launch failures that risk leaving Europe without its own access to space.[1] For the ESA to maintain independent access and to participate in the global market, the ESA will need to pivot to a market-based procurement policy. 

Europe’s recent launch failures stem from three rocket models that the ESA utilizes: the Vega C, the Ariane-6, and the Soyuz.[2] Launch failures have become a costly and pressing concern for the ESA after the Vega C failed to launch in December 2022.[3] It remains uncertain when the Vega C will fly again.[4] The December Vega C launch failure comes on the heels of the original Vega rocket failing to launch in both 2019 and 2020 and after the discontinuation of the Soyuz rockets in 2022 due to Western sanctions on Russia.[5] 

These three failures over the last few years have led the ESA Director General, Josef Aschacher, to call for reform and a deeper analysis of quality aspects.[6] The High-Level Advisory Group (HLAG), established at the request of ESA, presented a report in March of 2023 on the state of European space exploration and its traditional dependence on other countries’ space programs like NASA and Russia.[7] The HLAG concluded that given the revolutionary changes in space exploration, Europe cannot afford to miss out on profiting from the economic opportunities of space by staying dependent on others.[8]  

Airbus CEO Tom Enders also recognizes that Europe is falling behind in the arena of space exploration. [9]  Enders critiqued the slow change and industrial inefficiencies of the ESA, along with Europe’s lack of autonomy, investment, and enthusiasm for space as reasons for the country not being a global competitor.[10] Additionally, the ESA has a “georeturn” policy where the agency awards a settled ratio of contracts to countries based on the country’s contribution to the ESA.[11] Enders argues that the “georeturn” policy should be discontinued to allow for international competition among European countries and a simpler decision-making process.[12] The High-Level Advisory Group (HLAG) also recommends that the ESA’s procurement process needs to become more commercially oriented and that constraints on procurement should be alleviated to stimulate private investment and industrial competitiveness.[13] 

Therefore, to become a global competitor and participant in the space race, the ESA should adopt NASA’s commercial-oriented procurement approach when contracting for large-scale projects. A privatized procurement process would involve the ESA defining the requirements for large-scale infrastructure or missions and then encouraging private companies to propose the most innovative and cost-efficient solution.[14] With ever-decreasing options, the ESA has placed itself in a tight spot to maintain its access to space, but the American procurement model would help solve Europe’s issue.

NASA first employed its commercial procurement process more than 20 years ago by contracting day-to-day operations to Lockheed Martin and Rockwell.[15]  NASA then focused on the privatization of common management functions and the space station, with the driving force being competition in the space field and decreasing costs.[16] In the Space Act, Congress authorized NASA to enter into enforceable agreements with private companies under its “other transactions” authority (OTA).[17] NASA has contracted out jobs with major companies such as Aerojet Rocketdyne, Boeing, Jacobs, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman who have over 3,800 suppliers themselves just for the Artemis project alone.[18] Companies like SpaceX are more efficient because the private sector is incentivized to avoid excessive costs and focus on efficient solutions.[19] 

By adopting a similar agency authorization and privatizing the procurement process, the ESA could return to the stage as a global competitor and secure its own access to space.  Additionally, a new privatized procurement approach would also allow for greater partnership and an expansion of options during a time when the ESA is more limited than ever before. Either way, ESA needs to adapt in order to move forward in a brave new world of globalized companies and to maintain any competitive edge.  

[1] Jeff Foust, Europe Grappling with Space Access Challenges, SpaceNews (Jan. 23, 2023), https://spacenews.com/europe-grappling-with-space-access-challenges/.

[2] Jonathan Amos, Carbon Component Blamed for Vega Rocket Loss, BBC (Mar. 3, 2023), https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-64838254.

[3] Id.

[4] Jeff Foust, Vega C Fails on Second Launch, SpaceNews (Dec. 20, 2022), https://spacenews.com/vega-c-fails-on-second-launch/.

[5] Foust, supra note 1. 

[6] Id.

[7] Independent Advisory Group Presents Report on European Space Revolution to ESA, European Space Agency (Mar. 23, 2023), https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Independent_advisory_group_presents_report_on_European_space_revolution_to_ESA.

[8] High-Level Advisory Group, Revolution Space: Report of the High-Level Advisory Group on Human and Robotic Space Exploration for Europe 1, 6 (March 2023), https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/corporate/h-lag_brochure.pdf.

[9] Jeff Foust, Airbus CEO Calls for Reforms to European Space Governance, SpaceNews (Oct. 6, 2018), https://spacenews.com/airbus-ceo-calls-for-reforms-to-european-space-governance/.

[10] Id.

[11] Industrial Policy and Geographical Distribution, European Space Agency, https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Business_with_ESA/How_to_do/Industrial_policy_and_geographical_distribution (last visited Aug. 5, 2023); Foust, supra note 8. 

[12] Foust, supra note 8. 

[13] High-Level Advisory Group, Revolution Space: Report of the High-Level Advisory Group on Human and Robotic Space Exploration for Europe 1, 23-26 (March 2023), https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/corporate/h-lag_brochure.pdf.

[14] European Space Agency, supra note 7.

[15] Andrew W. Horstmyer, Developments in the Privatization of NASA, 1 Loy. Intell. Prop. & High Tech. Law Q. 30, 30 (1996).

[16] Id.

[17] The National Aeronautics and Space Act, 51 U.S.C. § 20113(e).  

[18] Artemis Partners, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, https://www.nasa.gov/content/artemis-partners#:~:text=NASA%20Prime%20Contractors%20Aerojet%20Rocketdyne,the%20lunar%20spaceport%20at%20Kennedy.html (Mar. 29, 2021). 

[19] Andrew Follett, Private Firms are the Key to Space Exploration, The National Review (Aug. 21, 2021), https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/08/private-firms-are-the-key-to-space-exploration/.