#BBC π 23 June 2021 @EUSPA will have oversight of everything the #EuropeanUnion πͺπΊ does as a bloc in #orbit. The #EU now funds π° a quarter of all #ESA activities https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-57573698
πͺπΊ EU's relationship with #ESA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union_Agency_for_the_Space_Programme#EU's_relationship_with_ESA
Picture : 
π΄ ESA membership only. π’ ESA and EU memberships. π΅ EU membership only https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ESA_and_EU.png
π Apr 18, 2023 πͺπΊ #European #SpacePolicy combined the worst of the parochial politics that guide #NASA funding in the #US with the sluggish β³ activity of a traditional aerospace company accustomed to guaranteed contracts. Naturally, therefore, development of the project has lagged and gone over budget. In the nine years since Europe began development of the #Ariane 6 to compete with #SpaceX, the #Falcon9 rocket has nearly doubled its payload capacity π and become partially reusable, so it is now more capable and costs π΅ far less π https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/04/europes-ariane-6-rocket-is-turning-into-a-space-policy-disaster
#LeMonde π November 08, 2023 #Seville πͺπΈ summit : #NASA underwent a similar restructuring 15 years β³ ago, culminating in the success of #SpaceX.
In the long term, this context will also call for a change in decision-making within #Europe's πͺπΊ #SpaceIndustry. The #EU cannot simply remain one of #ESA's clients. It must be able to take its space destiny into its own hands, to ensure its sovereignty. This ambition necessarily requires a change in #governance, which has yet to be achieved. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/europe/article/2023/11/08/the-crucial-paradigm-shift-undertaken-by-europe-s-space-agency_6237077_143.html
The new #Ariane 6 rocket, which is running four years late β³ and still hasn't flown, should be the last #LaunchVehicle developed by #ESA, which will launch a competition of #launchers without weight class limitations. The field of startup launch companies in #Europe πͺπΊ includes German π©πͺ firms like #HyImpulse, #RocketFactory Augsburg, and #IsarAerospace; British π¬π§ companies such as #Skyrora and #Orbex; and Spain's πͺπΈ #PLDSpace. #ESA will use around 75 million euros π° to pay for the early stages of the #cargo π¦ challenge, which #Aschbacher expects will result in three companies competing with one another https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/11/after-the-sting-of-ariane-6-europe-finally-embraces-commercial-rockets/
Which #rocket π will first deliver #payload π°οΈ to #LEO ?
β’ #Ariane design concept π 2014 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariane_6
β’ #H3 design concept π 2015 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H3_(rocket)
β’ #Starship design concept π 2018 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Starship#Early_design_concepts_(2012%E2%80%932019)
Options: (choose one)
@spaceflight I hope it will be Ariane, this is the rocket I am rooting for. Go ESA <3