Arianespace says customers have reserved 30 flights on Ariane 6 rockets, including European institutions, Amazon, Intelsat, Eutelsat, and the Australian telecom company Optus.
“From my point of view, Ariane 6 has already demonstrated its competitiveness with 30 launches in the order book,” said Caroline Arnoux, head of the Ariane 6 program at Arianespace.
Sure, Ariane 6 has staying power. It won’t be eradicated until a newer, potentially reusable European rocket arrives on the scene. Europe’s primary goal for its launcher program is to guarantee independent European access to space. A secondary objective is to field a commercially viable launch vehicle.
Tolker-Nielsen’s comments illustrate the way European space officials view the government-funded launcher program. It does not exist to revolutionize space travel. It is there to serve European governments, and ultimately provide services to European citizens. The industrial paradigm also ensures the program’s investors (ESA member states) get a return on their investment through industrial contracts, and ultimately jobs.
Credit:
European Space Agency
ESA’s policy of geographic return is an inefficient way to manage development of a large project like Ariane 6. Philippe Baptiste, head of the French agency CNES, last year blamed this approach for delays and rising costs on the Ariane 6 program. CNES is also a partner on Ariane 6, with authority over construction of the rocket’s launch pad in French Guiana.
In a best-case scenario, Arianespace plans to fly Ariane 6 rockets 10 times a year by 2027. European officials just don’t see enough demand to close the business case for reusability, according to Tolker-Nielsen.
“We made the choice of not being reusable with Ariane 6 exactly because of this argument,” he told Space News. “Our launch needs are so low that it wouldn’t make sense economically. So, we don’t really need it at this point.”
That may change in the 2030s or 2040s, and ESA is partnering with industry on a suborbital reusable rocket demonstrator called Themis that could become the centerpiece for a new orbital rocket. “When we’ll launch frequently in the future, we’ll need reusability for economic reasons,” Tolker-Nielsen said. “The second reason to have reusability for a European launcher is sustainability. We must have a circular economy in 10 or 20 years; we need to be sustainable.”
