SpaceX seals deal with ESA for launch of satellites: Report

Elon Musk-led SpaceX has signed a deal for launching up to four satellites of Europe, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has reported. These are flagship navigation and secure communication satellites. The report however said that European Commission, the European Union's (EU) executive arm, along with EU member states would still have to give their seal of approval for the deal to go ahead.

Recently, the European Space Agency (ESA) signed an agreement with SpaceX for two launches set to take place next year. Two Galileo satellites would be sent into orbit during each launch.

The WSJ quoted Javier Benedicto, the ESA's director of navigation, who said that the agreement called for SpaceX launching these satellites using its Falcon 9 rocket.

Watch | SpaceX plans to launch 144 missions in 2024

There was no immediate official comment either from the European Commission or SpaceX.

Last month, European space officials stressed that crucial timing decisions were to be taken in a matter of weeks on the return to flight of Europe's flagship space launchers following a series of delays.

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket was recently used by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to launch a spacecraft containing The Psyche probe. The rocket blasted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cap Canaveral. The probe will travel 2.2 billion miles (3.5 billion kilometres) through space and reach Psyche, which is the largest of the several metal-rich asteroids in our Solar System.

The asteroid is roughly 173 miles (279 km) across at its widest. It is located on the outer fringes of the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

It is considered that Psych is a remnant of core of an ancient protoplanet. The Psyche probe is estimated to reach the asteroid in August 2029.

The launch of the Psych probe was streamed live on NASA TV and also on NASA's social media handles.

(With inputs from agencies)

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