Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket is set for its first-ever launch next week, carrying with it the continent's hopes of regaining independent access to space and fending off soaring competition from Elon Musk's SpaceX.
That’s fine, but is that so essential right now that it can be compared to going from a horse-drawn carriage to a car? I mean, do you think there won’t be room for disposable launchers anymore?
One can argue about having a disposable second stage (like Falcon-9) vs. full re-usability (like the upcoming Starship), as the latter is not very efficient fuel wise. But not having a reusable first stage just makes it way too expensive to be able to compete in the currently market dominated by the Falcon-9.
From the article:
Reusability of the rocket is a big thing because it reduces cost.
Precisely. Introducing a new rocket that is not reusable in this day and age instantly makes your product obsolete.
That’s fine, but is that so essential right now that it can be compared to going from a horse-drawn carriage to a car? I mean, do you think there won’t be room for disposable launchers anymore?
Thanks for answering
It’s just not cost competitive at all anymore.
One can argue about having a disposable second stage (like Falcon-9) vs. full re-usability (like the upcoming Starship), as the latter is not very efficient fuel wise. But not having a reusable first stage just makes it way too expensive to be able to compete in the currently market dominated by the Falcon-9.
Thanks for the explanations, I hope that ESA develops something more updated soon