This is going to be in the Reading list before sleep for Sweet engineering dreams
Ariane 6 user's manual [pdf]
11–20 of 25 posts
Re: Ariane 6 user's manual [pdf]
#12Is there any sign of political pressure in Europe around its space programme? Or is it going to be stuck in Ariane space for another generation?
The issue is that Europe does not have the market for a reusable rocket and though there are a few initiatives for creating one, the current policy is for maintaining launch capability for only a few satellites yearly. If the EU decides to make One Web truly massive, things might change.
> issue is that Europe does not have the market for a reusable rocket
SpaceX launched more European payloads in 2025 than European launch providers did.
> the current policy is for maintaining launch capability for only a few satellites yearly
The current policy is for throwing employment money at Arianespace. It's the situation America would have been if we were still stuck with ULA.
Re: Ariane 6 user's manual [pdf]
#13Is there any sign of political pressure in Europe around its space programme? Or is it going to be stuck in Ariane space for another generation?
Aren't everyone just waiting for WW3 to end now? Right now doesn't seem like the time to make politically significant changes.
Re: Ariane 6 user's manual [pdf]
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
The issue is that Europe does not have the market for a reusable rocket and though there are a few initiatives for creating one, the current policy is for maintaining launch capability for only a few satellites yearly. If the EU decides to make One Web truly massive, things might change.
> issue is that Europe does not have the market for a reusable rocket SpaceX launched more European payloads in 2025 than European launch providers did. > the current policy is for maintaining launch capability for only a few satellites yearly The current policy is for throwing employment money at Arianespace. It's the situation America would have been if we were still stuck with ULA.
Were those payloads enough to pay for a second SpaceX though? And could such a company compete on price with SpaceX if it is created?
TBH, Musk made his space market, but the only one capable of creating EuroSpace is Trump.
Re: Ariane 6 user's manual [pdf]
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
> issue is that Europe does not have the market for a reusable rocket SpaceX launched more European payloads in 2025 than European launch providers did. > the current policy is for maintaining launch capability for only a few satellites yearly The current policy is for throwing employment money at Arianespace. It's the situation America would have been if we were still stuck with ULA.
Were those payloads enough to pay for a second SpaceX though? And could such a company compete on price with SpaceX if it is created? TBH, Musk made his space market, but the only one capable of creating EuroSpace is Trump.
> Were those payloads enough to pay for a second SpaceX though?
Today, probably not. When SpaceX announced "Falcon 5 and Falcon 9" as "the world’s first launch vehicles where all stages are designed for reuse" [1], the world was launching 55 payloads a year globally [2].
[1] https://web.archive.org/web/20080815163222/http://www.spacex...
Re: Ariane 6 user's manual [pdf]
#16Is there any sign of political pressure in Europe around its space programme? Or is it going to be stuck in Ariane space for another generation?
Aren't everyone just waiting for WW3 to end now? Right now doesn't seem like the time to make politically significant changes.
> Aren't everyone just waiting for WW3 to end now?
No. Because it hasn't started.
> Right now doesn't seem like the time to make politically significant changes
If a world war had started, right now would be the only time. Historically speaking, the cultures that waited to enact change because of threat of conquest tended to get hit first, hardest and with the longest-lasting effects. (Granted, if someone's getting fucked in WWIII, it's going to be Europe and everything around China and Russia.)
Re: Ariane 6 user's manual [pdf]
#17About the cover picture: at that altitude, shouldn't the plume look completelu different? Com to think of it, shouldn't the first stage and srbs be long gone?
Re: Ariane 6 user's manual [pdf]
#18Is there any sign of political pressure in Europe around its space programme? Or is it going to be stuck in Ariane space for another generation?
Aren't everyone just waiting for WW3 to end now? Right now doesn't seem like the time to make politically significant changes.
It hasn't started, although we could be in the precursor stage.
Given the current instability, political changes should be a high priority.
Re: Ariane 6 user's manual [pdf]
#19Is there any sign of political pressure in Europe around its space programme? Or is it going to be stuck in Ariane space for another generation?
It's mainly about budget, the US and China spend more than Europe.
It looks like the next generation will be reusable though, there are a few programs to that effect, both from established players and "new space" startups.
Re: Ariane 6 user's manual [pdf]
#20Is there any sign of political pressure in Europe around its space programme? Or is it going to be stuck in Ariane space for another generation?
It's mainly about budget, the US and China spend more than Europe. It looks like the next generation will be reusable though, there are a few programs to that effect, both from established players and "new space" startups.
> looks like the next generation will be reusable
To the extent original Falcon 9 and earlier Chinese rockets were. It will be obsolete on release.