While others complain that “it’s too late” France does something, at least.
By the time the French are finished, Space X would have already established the first permanent settlement on Mars.
ESA should just work together with Space x.
For being a French article there are a lot of mistakes and bad descriptions here, like Arianespace being a space agency or Vernon being where Ariane launches instead of where it is made.
Still, an interesting part:
>The Maia project should be ready to carry out its first commercial mission in 2026, taking off from the launch pad of the former Diamant rockets, in Kourou, French Guiana.While the deadline is tight, the Ariane Group said it was doable because its engineers were not starting from scratch. The technology has already been tested on the Temis reusable rocket demonstrator, while the Prometheus low-cost reusable engine will also feed the Maia project.
Both Themis and Prometheus are still in early development right now. Themis is supposed to complete the full demonstrations of its concept [in 2025](https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/ESA_plans_demonstration_of_a_reusable_rocket_stage) but Prometheus, that will power Themis, was supposed to undergo static fire tests first in 2020 and then in 2021, which as far as I can tell this hasn’t happened. Also, Themis will be a first stage demonstrator only, so for this Maia “mini-rocket” to be ready in 2026 is even less realistic, or if it is it will be of very limited capacity.
And then there’s the issue of internal competition. Never mind the fact that various private European companies are now starting to invest into smallsat launchers, which would have the French State as a competitor, the ESA is also financing some of those companies with design contracts for smallsat solutions. Most importantly though, Maia would compete with the existing Arianespace rockets, which is a very big danger, especially to Vega. While 500 kg to 1000 kg can still be placed in the micro to small satellite categories, even with the increase in capacity of Vega C this would encroach on the missions usually undertaken by this rocket, and in particular on the rideshare missions that Arianespace has vowed to make very frequent. Since Vega C shares the first stage SRB with Ariane 6, less purchased Vega C launches mean less money generated by the P120 SRB production line and less profits, or bigger unrecovered costs. If any other countries were to propose something like this France would be very pissed off.
Better late than never, but by God they are late.
Sooo… by the time this is actually taking off SpaceX will be launching a fully re-usable rocket.
The ESA needs to be more forward looking than being where SpaceX were ten years ago.
This is why macron doesn’t want to pay for university anymore.
He is ruining France and he needs to go
Once again the US invents and Europe plays catch up.
There’s no shame in being shameless ! We should absolutely have no fear in copying what’s proven to be sensible business.
I wonder where the rockets will be refurbished between flights? If they need to be shipped back and forth between French Guiana and France between flights, that could add a fair amount of cost and delay. It could also slow the development process. SpaceX seem to be moving towards a business model where the manufacturing refurbishment facilities are close to the launch pads in Texas.
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While others complain that “it’s too late” France does something, at least.
By the time the French are finished, Space X would have already established the first permanent settlement on Mars.
ESA should just work together with Space x.
For being a French article there are a lot of mistakes and bad descriptions here, like Arianespace being a space agency or Vernon being where Ariane launches instead of where it is made.
Still, an interesting part:
>The Maia project should be ready to carry out its first commercial mission in 2026, taking off from the launch pad of the former Diamant rockets, in Kourou, French Guiana.While the deadline is tight, the Ariane Group said it was doable because its engineers were not starting from scratch. The technology has already been tested on the Temis reusable rocket demonstrator, while the Prometheus low-cost reusable engine will also feed the Maia project.
Both Themis and Prometheus are still in early development right now. Themis is supposed to complete the full demonstrations of its concept [in 2025](https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/ESA_plans_demonstration_of_a_reusable_rocket_stage) but Prometheus, that will power Themis, was supposed to undergo static fire tests first in 2020 and then in 2021, which as far as I can tell this hasn’t happened. Also, Themis will be a first stage demonstrator only, so for this Maia “mini-rocket” to be ready in 2026 is even less realistic, or if it is it will be of very limited capacity.
And then there’s the issue of internal competition. Never mind the fact that various private European companies are now starting to invest into smallsat launchers, which would have the French State as a competitor, the ESA is also financing some of those companies with design contracts for smallsat solutions. Most importantly though, Maia would compete with the existing Arianespace rockets, which is a very big danger, especially to Vega. While 500 kg to 1000 kg can still be placed in the micro to small satellite categories, even with the increase in capacity of Vega C this would encroach on the missions usually undertaken by this rocket, and in particular on the rideshare missions that Arianespace has vowed to make very frequent. Since Vega C shares the first stage SRB with Ariane 6, less purchased Vega C launches mean less money generated by the P120 SRB production line and less profits, or bigger unrecovered costs. If any other countries were to propose something like this France would be very pissed off.
Better late than never, but by God they are late.
Sooo… by the time this is actually taking off SpaceX will be launching a fully re-usable rocket.
The ESA needs to be more forward looking than being where SpaceX were ten years ago.
This is why macron doesn’t want to pay for university anymore.
He is ruining France and he needs to go
Once again the US invents and Europe plays catch up.
There’s no shame in being shameless ! We should absolutely have no fear in copying what’s proven to be sensible business.
I wonder where the rockets will be refurbished between flights? If they need to be shipped back and forth between French Guiana and France between flights, that could add a fair amount of cost and delay. It could also slow the development process. SpaceX seem to be moving towards a business model where the manufacturing refurbishment facilities are close to the launch pads in Texas.