Is Europe about to return to the rocket business?
Europe is aiming to regain independent access to space with the first launch of its new heavy-lift rocket, Ariane 6, from French Guiana on Tuesday. The European Space Agency has had to rely on Elon Musk’s SpaceX to send its most sensitive satellites into orbit since it retired Ariane 5, once one of the world’s most reliable rockets, in July last year. Ariane 6 will be more flexible, with a restartable upper stage able to deposit satellites in different orbits on a single mission. Four years late and with a price tag of about €4bn, the 56 metre-tall Ariane 6 will attempt its first flight between 3pm and 7pm local time. But more than 10 hours earlier, before dawn breaks over the vast forested area in South America that is home to the Guiana Space Centre (CSG), engineers will begin the official countdown, an orchestration of checks and milestones required for a successful flight. Even then, close to 50 per cent of first flights fail. … the 540-tonne rocket will lift off on its two-hour and 40-minute mission to deliver 17 satellites and experiments into space, with the ESA, Nasa, universities and start-ups each paying between €1,000 and €5,000 for the service.
Source: FT
Even if Ariane 6 succeeds, the question is whether an old-fashioned non-returnable rocket can compete with Musk’s Falcon 9 with its reusable first stage.