SpaceX is making steady progress toward building out the pad at NASA’s Cape Canaveral site in Florida for the first Starship launch from the Space Coast. On Tuesday, SpaceX installed the Ship Quick Disconnect (QD) arm on the launch tower at Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A). Space launch enthusiast site NASASpaceflight shared footage of engineers putting […]

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It took a while, but a consensus has emerged in Europe that the continent's space industry needs to develop reusable rockets. How to do it and how much to spend on it remain unresolved questions.

Much of the discourse around reusable rockets in Europe has focused on developing a brand-new rocket that might eventually replace the Ariane 6, which debuted less than two years ago but still uses the "use it and lose it" model embraced by the launch industry for most of the Space Age.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is offering money to emerging rocket companies in Europe to prove its small satellite launchers can do the job. ESA is also making money available to incentivize rocket upgrades to haul heavier cargo into orbit. ESA, the European Commission, and national governments are funding rocket hoppers to demonstrate vertical takeoff and vertical landing technologies. While there is significant money behind these efforts, the projects are not unified, and progress has been slow.

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