Monday, December 6th, 2021
“Our own SpaceX”
France competes with Musk with a rocket
Elon Musk’s SpaceX still dominates the space sector and also conducts space flights to the International Space Station (ISS). But France could now overtake the Tesla boss with its own reusable rocket.
France does not want to leave the sky alone to Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX. “For the first time Europe will have access to a reusable rocket. In other words, we will have our own SpaceX, our own Falcon 9,” said French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, referring to the development of a European launcher.
At the moment, SpaceX dominates the sector and also conducts manned space flights to the International Space Station (ISS). Meanwhile, Tesla boss Musk’s company is working on the reusable Starship rocket, which will also enable flights to Mars.
But the development of the associated Raptor engine is stalling, according to “Focus Online”. In a leaked email recently, Elon Musk wrote, “Unfortunately, the Raptor manufacturing crisis is far worse than it seemed a few weeks ago.” Starship would not be able to fly without Raptor engines.
In contrast, the European space company Ariane is making good progress in Normandy. Finance Minister Le Maire said during his visit that the missile must be operational in 2026. French President Emmanuel Macron presented an investment plan worth 30 billion euros in October. The “France 2030” program aims to restore competitiveness in space, among other things. The ArianeGroup is a joint venture between Airbus and Safran.