Until now SpaceX’s main client was undoubtedly NASA. And it is because since the cancellation of the space shuttle program, the American space agency does not have its own platform that would carry people into space. That’s set to change with the very imminent debut of the Space Launch System (SLS), a NASA project the agency has been working on for more than a decade that will return the ability to launch into space when completed. must be dependent on third parties.

Until the arrival of SpaceX, the Russian Soyuz was the only way for manned flights to the ISS and together with the always reliable but financially burdensome French Arianne 5, which was used for James Webb’s launch, the only option for most launch types. It is true that the ecosystem of private companies in the sector is growing, but for now and in the short term, there are still no other viable alternatives.

Europe, even if it does not have its own plans as ambitious as those of the United States, i.ealso developed various space missions in which, like NASA, it depends on the Arianne 5 and, until recently, the Russian Soyuz. But of course in this regard, the conflict between Ukraine and Russia changed everything to the extent that the Russian space agency stopped cooperating with Europe in launching Soyuz rockets from French Guiana, something that has left other European Space Agency missions in the air.

The situation is of course complex.. Some launches have to be tailored to very specific windows, to which we have to add the investments that have been made in all of them, which would be lost if, in the end, the missions have to be canceled due to the impossibility of the necessary launches.

In response to this threat, and as reported by Reuters, The European Space Agency is said to have already started talks with SpaceX, although they would still be in the stage of preliminary negotiations. Other options such as Japanese and Indian launch pads are also being considered, although it is true that some sources suggest that the SpaceX option could be the most viable. Of course, it is pointed out that this would be a temporary solution in any case, which makes us wonder what the ESA’s plans are in the medium and long term.