Space: Emmanuel Macron wants to bring out new French players in the face of competition
The French president arrived this Monday March 25 in Guyana for a two-day visit. Emmanuel Macron must notably go to the Kourou Space Center on Tuesday to announce the names of four French companies selected to develop mini-launchers. In this strategic market, the Europeans are lagging behind the formidable Space X of Elon Musk.
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the press upon his arrival at Cayenne-Félix Eboué airport in Cayenne, as part of a two-day visit to Guyana, this Monday March 25, 2024. © Ludovic Marin / AFP
By: RFI with AFP | RFI Follow
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Like the United States, France wants to launch into mini space launchers. Four start-ups were selected. The projects were selected as part of a call for projects for the France 2030 investment plan. This announcement comes as President
Emmanuel Macron
is due to visit the Guiana Space Center (CSG) in
Kourou
on Tuesday , which is celebrating its 60th anniversary. .
Latitude and HyprSpace won the call for tenders for micro-launchers capable of sending small loads of up to 200 kilos, into low orbit, at an altitude of 400 kilometers, by 2026-2027, according to the Elysium. The two other start-ups, Sirius Space and the Arianegroup subsidiary MaiaSpace, were selected in another call for tenders for mini-launchers capable of placing larger loads, up to one and a half tonnes, into medium orbit. . The Sirius rocket must carry 700 kg of payload, while the Maia launcher will have a payload of 1.5 tonnes in low orbit, 500 kg if it returns to land for reuse.
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A model inspired by the United States
Instead of financing developments through subsidies, the choice was made to purchase services: “
It's a little different since you can buy a service which is the first flight, there is a little money at the beginning and especially when you succeed in your flight
,” we explained at the Élysée.
The model is inspired by the United States which facilitated
the emergence of SpaceX
. Elon Musk's company alone carried out 107 launches last year, compared to three (two Ariane 5s and a Vega rocket) for the Europeans. “
SpaceX has crushed the market and is extremely competitive, it is also very supported by American subsidies
”, NASA and the Pentagon buying numerous launches from it, we comment at the Élysée.
Preparing for European competition
State support for small French launchers also aims to prepare for the competition to be launched in 2025 by the European Space Agency (ESA) with a view to promoting the future generation of micro and mini-launchers. The French will likely have to face rockets developed by the Germans Isar Aerospace, Hyimpulse and RFA, or even by the Spanish PLD Space.
All these projects have already been selected by the National Center for Space Studies (Cnes) so that they can be launched from the Kourou spaceport. Some “
50 million euros were invested on the site to build and adapt launch pads to this world of mini-launchers
”, according to the Élysée. The objective for the Europeans is to establish themselves on the global market dominated by the American Space X, which carried out 107 orbital flights in 2023, at unbeatable prices.
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