The News
Europe is “back in space” after its long-awaited Ariane 6 rocket launched in a successful first test Tuesday. The European Space Agency retired the Ariane 5 last July, leaving it reliant on Elon Musk’s SpaceX to carry satellites. The new rocket is meant “to make up some of the lost ground” to private companies, Le Monde reported, but “is unlikely to be enough.” Ariane is an expendable rocket designed for one launch a month, while SpaceX can launch its reusable rockets every day.
One European weather satellite organization has already canceled its plan to use Ariane, choosing SpaceX instead. “Europe risks finding itself a generation behind,” Le Monde lamented, as Musk warned three years ago: Single-use rockets will “seem like a cloth biplane in an age of jets.”