Astrium and SpaceX sign an agreement to bring Falcon 1e launch capabilities to the European institutional market

 

September 9 2010

Astrium and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) today signed an agreement to provide dedicated launch services to the European institutional very small satellite market. 

This agreement will enable Astrium and SpaceX to market Falcon 1e launch capabilities to space agencies and other institutional customers in Europe for launches to take place through to 2015. 

With dedicated launch services, customers with very small payloads can launch independently to low-Earth orbit, giving them greater control over the launch and actual launch schedule. With the Falcon 1e, Astrium and SpaceX will be able to offer these services at the lowest cost per flight.

Alain Charmeau, CEO of Astrium Space Transportation declared: “This agreement will provide European customers with a launch service that complements existing options. In this way, any European customer will be capable of launching very small spacecraft on dedicated launches as primary payloads.”