It took a while, but a consensus has emerged in Europe that the continent’s space industry needs to develop reusable rockets. How to do it and how much to spend on it remain unresolved questions.
Much of the discourse around reusable rockets in Europe has focused on developing a brand new rocket that might eventually replace the Ariane 6, which debuted less than two years ago but still uses the use it and lose it model embraced by the launch industry for most of the Space Age.
The European Space Agency (ESA) is offering money to emerging rocket companies in Europe to prove their small satellite launchers can do the job. ESA is also making money available to incentivize rocket upgrades to haul heavier cargo into orbit. ESA, the European Commission, and national governments are funding rocket hoppers to demonstrate vertical takeoff and vertical landing technologies. While there is significant money behind these efforts, the projects are not unified, and progress has been slow.
Now, there’s a proposal to retrofit the existing Ariane 6 rocket design for partial reuse. ArianeGroup, a 50/50 joint venture between Airbus and Safran, won a contract from the European Space Agency’s Boosters for European Space Transportation (BEST!) initiative in late 2024.
Credit: ESA – S. Corvaja Europe’s first Ariane 6 rocket takes flight for the first time on July 9, 2024. Europe’s first Ariane 6 rocket takes flight for the first time on July 9, 2024. Credit: ESA – S. Corvaja
Going back in time
The origins of the Ariane 6 rocket’s design can be traced back to 2014, when Airbus and Safran unveiled the architecture that finally began flying in 2024. The rocket uses an expendable design, with a cryogenic core stage and two or four strap-on solid rocket boosters, depending on the demands of the particular mission.
At the time, SpaceX had already announced plans to recover and reuse its Falcon 9 boosters. SpaceX recovered the first Falcon 9 booster in 2015, then reused one for the first time in 2017. Officials in Europe were betting against SpaceX’s success and lost. Blue Origin joined SpaceX in successfully landing an orbital-class booster last year, and several Chinese companies are close to replicating the achievement.