Meanwhile that psychopath billionaire from America shoots up one rocket after another.
I wish Arianespace were more innovative and competitive in the launch market. Maybe a new CEO will help shake things up?
Even in the highly volatile IT market big corporations move like dinosaurs. Upper management changes usually do not affect the actual business being done, except for management-related things. I don’t think aerospace corporations are any different.
So when do you think we’ll see the first reusable launch vehicle from Europe?
According to the Themis plans there will be a flight envelope test next year (reusable first stage).
CALLISTO was delayed to sometime in 2025 to 2026 (it’s a testing and evaluation platform so not an actually usable product but something that could lead to usable products in the future, it is also not entirely European).
There might also be Ariane Next replacing Ariane 6 sometime in the 2030s but will only be partially reusable.
All of those are in planning/development since 2020 (which is coincidentally the year in wich Falcon 9 became commercially available).
