ariane
Latest
Airbus thinks it can trump SpaceX's reusable rockets
Airbus isn't done trying to beat SpaceX... in fact, it's going for the jugular. The German aerospace firm has unveiled Adeline, a reusable first-stage rocket engine that aims to one-up the efforts from its American rival. Rather than try to return the entire first stage to Earth, Adeline carries just the most expensive bits, the engine and avionics. The machine has an aerodynamic shield that reduces engine stress on the way down, and two winglets with rotary motors to guide the craft safely to the ground -- Airbus envisions the rocket segment landing on runways, not launchpads. This approach reportedly requires much less fuel than SpaceX's approach, and would lop as much as 30 percent off routine launch costs.
Europe will make Ariane rockets more competitive with SpaceX
No, not "airline" rockets. Ariane rockets. According to The Wall Street Journal, EU ministers are finally about to approve plans for a more affordable version of the Ariane series -- the same family that launched Rosetta back in 2004. What counts as affordable when developing a rocket, is reportedly between five and six billion dollars. The European Space Agency makes no secret that its goal is to compete with commercial entities like SpaceX, which already has a program to deliver supplies (and humans) to the ISS. No surprise, given that SpaceX's very own Elon Musk already went on record saying that the current Ariane 5 rocket stands "no chance" against his competition. SpaceX doesn't need to worry just yet though, as the roadmap for Ariane 6 wouldn't see a launch until the end of the decade.
CE-Oh no he didn't!: SpaceX creator Elon Musk says Ariane 5 rocket has 'no chance'
Entrepreneur Elon Musk is well-known for talking trash about the vehicular competition... just not when it involves rockets instead of four wheels. Still, that's what we're facing in the wake of a BBC interview. He tells the broadcaster that the Ariane 5 rocket stands "no chance" in the face of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy systems from his own SpaceX outfit, as it's more expensive to use -- and the contrast will only get worse when a cheaper, next-generation Falcon 9 arrives, he says. Musk echoes France's position that Ariane should skip a mid-life upgrade to its vehicle and jump directly to a less expensive Ariane 6. The executive has a point when there's more than 40 booked SpaceX flights so early into the Falcon program's history, although there's something left to prove when the first scheduled Dragon capsule launch ran into a non-critical engine failure. We'll know that Musk can walk the walk if there's still a long line of SpaceX customers by the time Ariane 6 hits the launchpad.
