Ultimately, it was deemed that neither of the aforementioned conditions were met, and NASA thus began requesting proposals for commercial launch services for Europa Clipper. An open commercial contract would be conducted if these conditions could not be met. In December 2020, NASA was required to use SLS to launch the Europa Clipper mission, with the stipulations that a core would be available and that torsional loading analyses confirmed that the spacecraft was safe to fly on the Block 1 Cargo vehicle. However, other vehicles would be allowed to launch Europa Clipper at NASA’s request due to a lack of available SLS core stages. The Europa Clipper spacecraft undergoing assembly and testing – credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APLįor a number of years, the spacecraft was bookmarked to fly on a cargo version of the super heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS) Block 1 rocket, as mandated by the United States Congress. Spacecraft manufacturing is being handled by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The probe features two large solar panels provided by Airbus Defence and Space, and will carry a host of scientific instruments such as the Europa Thermal Emission Imaging System (E-THEMIS). The Europa Clipper spacecraft, designed to perform multiple close flybys of the smallest Galilean moon while in orbit around Jupiter, will weigh in at around 6,065 kilograms when fully fueled and stands six meters tall. The total contract value, including the launch and other mission-related costs, is approximately $178 million. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) at Kennedy Space Center will handle management of Europa Clipper’s launch service.
A source selection document released this week revealed that Falcon Heavy was selected over one other bidder: United Launch Alliance’s yet unflown Vulcan launch vehicle. SpaceX’s heavy-lift Falcon Heavy rocket, which has been flown three times since its debut in February 2018 and currently maintains a 100% launch success record, was the vehicle of choice to launch Europa Clipper. The mission is due to launch no earlier than October 2024. On Friday, July 23, NASA announced that SpaceX was the winner of a commercial procurement to launch the Europa Clipper mission, which will closely study the icy Galilean moon of Jupiter in search of signs of life and/or ongoing geological activity.