Europe's Ariane 6 rocket finally ready for liftoff
Europe's Ariane 6 rocket finally ready for liftoff
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.
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It's like bringing out a new and improved horse and buggy just after Ford introduced the Model T.
Sorry for my ignorance, but what would the Model T be here? And why does it make this rocket obsolete? I don't know much more about the subject than I see in the press.
From the article:
Ariane 6’s first launch will use two boosters, with a more powerful four-booster version scheduled for liftoff in the middle of next year.
However, the boosters and other parts of the rocket are not reusable — unlike SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
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