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.
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.
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