Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Europe's Maiaspace steps up effort to counter SpaceX with reusable rocket
Europe’s Maiaspace steps up effort to counter SpaceX with reusable rocket
Maiaspace scientists face technological challenges stemming in part from Europe’s delay in fully embracing reusable technology.
Euractiv.com with Reuters
Dec 10, 2024 07:06 3 min. read
Content type: News Service Euractiv is part of the Trust Project
Artist view of a reusable Maiaspace rocket. [Maiaspace]
In a discreet forest clearing on a plateau above the town of Vernon in Normandy, France, workers adjust a steel cylinder held under giant red claws - part of a reusable rocket that Europe hopes will slow the meteoric rise of Elon Musk's SpaceX.
Maiaspace, a two-year-old subsidiary of Europe's largest rocket maker ArianeGroup, is entering a crucial period of testing for plans to launch Europe's first partially reusable launcher in 2026, targeting mainly small commercial satellites.
The effort to make Europe more competitive comes a decade after major European governments decided to develop the Ariane 6 heavy launcher without making it reusable, with some critics calling it outdated even before its commercial debut next year.
"On this side of the Atlantic, we have neglected the technologies of reusability," Maiaspace CEO Yohann Leroy told reporters during a visit to the company's test facilities on an abandoned corner of a sensitive French rocket engine facility.
Snip...more...
https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/europes-maiaspace-steps-up-effort-to-counter-spacex-with-reusable-rocket/
Maiaspace scientists face technological challenges stemming in part from Europe’s delay in fully embracing reusable technology.
Euractiv.com with Reuters
Dec 10, 2024 07:06 3 min. read
Content type: News Service Euractiv is part of the Trust Project
Artist view of a reusable Maiaspace rocket. [Maiaspace]
In a discreet forest clearing on a plateau above the town of Vernon in Normandy, France, workers adjust a steel cylinder held under giant red claws - part of a reusable rocket that Europe hopes will slow the meteoric rise of Elon Musk's SpaceX.
Maiaspace, a two-year-old subsidiary of Europe's largest rocket maker ArianeGroup, is entering a crucial period of testing for plans to launch Europe's first partially reusable launcher in 2026, targeting mainly small commercial satellites.
The effort to make Europe more competitive comes a decade after major European governments decided to develop the Ariane 6 heavy launcher without making it reusable, with some critics calling it outdated even before its commercial debut next year.
"On this side of the Atlantic, we have neglected the technologies of reusability," Maiaspace CEO Yohann Leroy told reporters during a visit to the company's test facilities on an abandoned corner of a sensitive French rocket engine facility.
Snip...more...
https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/europes-maiaspace-steps-up-effort-to-counter-spacex-with-reusable-rocket/
❤️pants