Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum rocket made history today (Sept. 5), becoming the first vehicle ever to reach orbit from European soil.
Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum rocket made history today (Sept. 5), becoming the first vehicle ever to reach orbit from European soil.
But not reusable isn’t it? Shouldn’t modern rockets be reusable?
Spanish company PLD Space is working on recoverable and reusable rockets. They had a successful launch in 2023 but it was suborbital. They are working on a low orbit rocket now: https://www.pldspace.com/en/news/pld-space-successfully-completes-first-private-space-rocket-launch-in-europe.html
They launched from Huelva so it was the first launch of a private rocket from continental Europe (but, again, suborbital).
Can’t do the second step after the first one, I guess.
I was thinking the same. It’s good for what it is, but especially for smallish rockets reusability is going to be key if we want any use out of them beyond occasional military satellites.