BepiColombo Status Options

[Guest_AlexBlackwell_*]

Excerpt from a News article by Jenny Hogan in the December 1, 2005, issue of Nature:

"The [funding] situation has led to speculation that BepiColombo, a mission destined for a 2013 launch to Mercury, might be cancelled. 'That is the big danger painted in the sky,' says Karl-Heinz Glassmeier, principal investigator on one of the instruments proposed for the spacecraft.

"Nerves were set jangling about the project, which also involves the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, after it was postponed because the initial design was too heavy. That problem seems to have been solved, but officials say the estimated cost of the mission, at 600 million [euros] to 650 million [euros], is still more than 100 million [euros] above target."

Reference:

Europe's cash crisis puts space plans under threat
Jenny Hogan
Nature 438, 542-543 (2005)
doi:10.1038/438542a
Full Text

[peter59]

Interesting quotes:

"A majority of the members of Europe's Science Program Committee (SPC), which oversees the space-science program based on budget guidelines at the European Space Agency (ESA), voted to cancel BepiColombo in June despite the fact that industrial contracts have been signed and considerable money already spent."

"It's certain that, had we known in 2006 what we know now, we never would have agreed to start BepiColombo."

"Southwood said he would reopen contract negotiations with Astrium Satellites with a view to reducing the price."

Why I am not astonished ? I think, it's beginning of end for BepiColombo.