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ArianeGroup and Arianespace announce the departure of Stephane Israël, CEO of Arianespace, and the appointment of his successor David Cavaillolès (newsroom.arianespace.com)

submitted 2 days ago by threelonmusketeers to c/[email protected]

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[–] threelonmusketeers 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

So when do you think we'll see the first reusable launch vehicle from Europe?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

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).

[–] threelonmusketeers 2 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

I wouldn't have imagined that nearly a decade later, Falcon 9/Heavy would still be the only reusable orbital launch vehicle. The entire launch industry is playing catch up.

2020 (which is coincidentally the year in wich Falcon 9 became commercially available

Falcon 9 has been flying commercial missions since 2013, no? I think CASSIOPE was the first...

[–] [email protected] 2 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (1 children)

Falcon 9 has been flying commercial missions since 2013, no?

At least not with humans, according to this Article from 2020:

Space history has been made. On 30 May, SpaceX and NASA launched two astronauts to space aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft, the first time a private company has flown humans into orbit, and the first crewed launch from the US since the end of the space shuttle programme in 2011.

“This is the first time that SpaceX has ever launched astronauts, and it’s also the first time that a government has trusted a commercial company to launch astronauts to orbit,” says space consultant Laura Forczyk. “It is a big deal.”

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2244889-nasa-and-spacex-launch-astronauts-into-new-era-of-private-spaceflight/

[–] threelonmusketeers 2 points 14 hours ago

Ah, I didn't realize you were referring exclusively to crewed missions. Yes, you are correct, the first crewed Falcon 9 launch was in 2020. The flew plenty of uncrewed commercial missions prior to that, though.

It seems like crewed European launch vehicles have a similarly slow timeline to reusable European launch vehicles.