Europe will re-establish access to space this year, said the director general of its space programme, Josef Aschbacher.
The European Space Agency severed ties with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, resulting in the loss of access to Soyuz rockets, which launched more than two dozen missions from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana.
Europe’s workhorse Ariane 5 launcher for heavy payloads also retired last summer.
The ESA has also suffered problems with next-generation rockets, leaving the space programme with reduced ability to launch satellites.
But both Ariane 6, which was originally supposed to launch in 2020, and the smaller Vega-C, which was grounded last year after a failed launch, will finally be introduced this year.
Speaking at the ESA’s annual press briefing on Thursday, Dr Aschbacher said: “Last year at this press conference I was saying very loud and clear that Europe was in a launcher crisis.
“And a launcher crisis, is of course, not having our own access to space. Getting Ariane 6 on to the launch bed and Vega-C return to flight has been keeping us very busy last year.”
Important decisions were also made last year to guarantee access to space until at least the end of this decade using Ariane 6 and Vega-C, he said.
The ESA has also begun to prepare for the next heavy launcher after Ariane 6.
“I can say that this year will look much better, hoping of course that everything goes to plan. We will re-establish access to space,” Dr Aschbacher said.
“We are on a stable path towards the maiden launches.”
Ariane 6 is scheduled to launch between mid-June and the end of July. The ESA said it will have the flexibility to launch heavy and light payloads to a wide range of orbits for applications such as Earth observation, telecoms, meteorology, science and navigation.
Vega-C failed during the launch of its second mission in December 2022 after losing pressure shortly after its second stage ignited and failed to accelerate as required. Mission controllers instructed the launcher to self destruct and no damage was done on the ground, the ESA said. Investigators said a faulty part from Ukraine was to blame.
The launcher, an upgrade to the Vega vehicle introduced in 2012 and designed to bring added performance and cost savings, is scheduled to return to space on November 15.
Last year, Dr Aschbacher said the ESA wanted to “further explore co-operation opportunities” with the UAE’s space programme.
Dr Aschbacher also suggested the ESA could collaborate on a second Rashid lunar mission to fly a UAE lander to the Moon.
The ESA is an inter-governmental space agency featuring 22 member states, including non-EU countries including Norway and the UK.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last 16, first leg
Liverpool v Bayern Munich, midnight, Wednesday, BeIN Sports
The specs: 2017 Dodge Viper SRT
Price, base / as tested Dh460,000
Engine 8.4L V10
Transmission Six-speed manual
Power 645hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 813Nm @ 5,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 16.8L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
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