European weather satellite operator Eumetsat has shifted the launch of its upcoming weather satellite from the Ariane 6 to the Falcon 9, a move that has both surprised and disappointed European space authorities. Eumetsat said on June 28 that Meteosat’s third-generation geostationary weather satellite, Siren 1 (MTG-S1), will launch in 2025 aboard the Falcon 9. The spacecraft was scheduled to launch in early 2025 aboard the Ariane 6.

“This decision was made due to exceptional circumstances,” Eumetsat CEO Phil Evans said in a statement, without elaborating. “This does not compromise our standard policy of supporting European partners, and we look forward to SpaceX successfully launching this masterpiece of European technology.”

The spacecraft becomes the second vehicle in Meteosat’s third-generation series of geostationary weather satellites, following the launch of MTG-I1 on one of the final Ariane 5 rockets in December 2022. MTG-S1 is the first sonar that can provide vertical temperature and water vapor profiles to improve weather forecasts.

Eumetsat said in a statement that MTG-S1 “will revolutionize weather forecasting and climate monitoring” and offered to move the launch to a Falcon 9 to ensure it launches on schedule.

“The launch will enable national weather services to leverage new, more accurate data to protect life, property and infrastructure,” the statement said. “Therefore, EUMETSAT Member States have decided to contract with SpaceX for the launch of the Meteosat Third Generation Siren 1 (MTG-S1) satellite on a Falcon 9 rocket in 2025.”

The agency did not respond to questions about the launch change sent before releasing the statement. The change in launch was first reported by a French newspaper on June 27. Le Monde. The change appears to have surprised the European space agency’s leadership, as they publicly expressed their shock and disappointment at Eumetsat’s decision not to use Ariane 6 less than two weeks before the rocket’s scheduled launch.

“It is clear that today is a very disappointing day for Europe’s space efforts,” Philippe Baptiste, head of the French space agency CNES, said in a social media post. said. He called the decision “a pretty brutal change” given the timing.

“I look forward to understanding what reasons might have led Eumetsat to take this decision, at a time when all major European space nations and the European Commission are calling for European satellites to be launched with European launchers!” He wrote.

He called on the European Commission to implement a form of “European buy-in” that would require European government missions to launch European missiles. “This once again demonstrates the urgent need for strong coordination in Europe’s space activities.”

Josef Aschbacher, director general of the European Space Agency, also called Eumetsat’s decision “strange” in a social media post on June 29. “It’s hard to understand, especially considering that Ariane 6 is due for its maiden flight on July 9 and things are going smoothly.”

He noted that Eumetsat’s decision will not affect the acceleration of Ariane 6 launches, assuming the first launch in July is successful. The second launch, which will be a commercial launch operated by Arianespace, is planned for the end of the year.

Arianespace has an order book for 30 Ariane 6 launches, Caroline Arnoux, Arianespace’s Ariane 6 program manager, said at the ESA briefing on June 25. This includes launching 18 Kuiper satellites for Amazon, among other commercial and government customers.

Arianespace said it plans to launch six Ariane 6s in 2025, rising to eight in 2026 and 10 in 2027. The device’s maximum flight rate is expected to be between 9 and 12 launches per year.

Lucia Linares, Head of ESA Space Transport Strategy and Corporate Launches, emphasised the importance of public customers for Ariane 6 at this briefing. “We designed Ariane 6, which has been designed, developed and now launched, to serve primarily European corporate missions,” she said. “This is the main reason why the public sector is financing this launch vehicle and ensuring access to space.”

But Eumetsat is not the first European corporate customer to choose the Falcon 9 for a launch, especially during the “launch vehicle crisis” that has restricted Europe’s access to space. ESA launched the Euclid space telescope on the Falcon 9 a year ago, and then launched EarthCARE, a joint Earth science mission with Japan’s JAXA space agency, in May. Another Falcon 9 will launch an ESA mission to the asteroid Hera in October.

The European Commission also selected a Falcon 9 to launch Galileo navigation satellites; A Falcon 9 is scheduled to launch a pair of satellites in April, and another pair is scheduled to launch later this year.