Skip to main content

The European Space Agency is building its own reusable rocket

SpaceX may be best known for revolutionizing rocket launches with its reusable rockets, including the Falcon 9, which has a reusable first stage and has been used for launching astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station for several years now. Now, Europe wants to get in on the action. The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced it is developing its own reusable rocket engine.

The Prometheus would be used in European rockets like the Ariane 6 and its successors, with the aim of making rocket launches considerably cheaper. The ESA described its planned engine as “the precursor of ultra-low-cost rocket propulsion that is flexible enough to fit a fleet of new launch vehicles for any mission and will be potentially reusable.”

The French space agency CNES, along with the aerospace company Ariane Group, unveiled its plans for a reusable rocket last year. The ESA has now chosen to fully fund the Prometheus engine design to create a usable version that it hopes can be produced considerably cheaper — down to a tenth of the cost — than current options.

A still from the video released by Ariane Group visualizing a future launch vehicle. Ariane Group

“This Prometheus precursor runs on liquid oxygen — methane which brings high efficiency, [and] allows standardization and operational simplicity. Methane propellant is also widely available and easy to handle,” the ESA said in a blog post. The engine will be able to be adapted to different needs: “Features such as variable thrust, multiple ignitions, suitability for main and upper-stage application, and minimized ground operations before and after flight also make Prometheus a highly flexible engine,” the ESA added.

The ESA will soon begin testing the hardware components of the Prometheus engine at the German Space Agency facilities in Lampoldshausen, Germany. It says it already has manufactured components including the turbo pump’s turbine, pump inlet, and gas generator valves, and it is currently manufacturing main subsystems.

The aim is to finish the first combustion chamber model this month, then deliver the real version of this combustion chamber by the end of the year, before assembling a full demonstration version of the engine for testing by 2021.

Editors' Recommendations

Georgina Torbet
Georgina is the Digital Trends space writer, covering human space exploration, planetary science, and cosmology. She…
SpaceX says it could fly Starship on Friday, but it depends on one thing
The Starship, comprising the first-stage Super Heavy and the upper-stage Starship spacecraft, on the launchpad at SpaceX's facility in Boca Chica, Texas.

SpaceX has said it could be in a position to perform the second launch of its next-generation Starship rocket this Friday, though it added that it can only happen once it’s received the nod from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

“Starship preparing to launch as early as November 17, pending final regulatory approval," SpaceX said in a recent post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Read more
Watch this unique view of SpaceX’s latest Starship rocket test
SpaceX tests its Starship rocket in a ground-based ignition.

As SpaceX continues to wait for the green light from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the second test flight of its mighty Super Heavy rocket, the company recently conducted a ground-based test fire of the rocket’s upper stage, called Starship.

SpaceX posted footage showing the brief test fire from directly above (bottom video), with one of the Starship’s six Raptor engines powering up for about six seconds.

Read more
Watch SpaceX’s most recent Starlink mission in just 60 seconds
A Falcon 9 rocket heads to space in October 2023.

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1713620903094055361

SpaceX flights using its Falcon 9 booster are so routine now that these days most launches slip by with few people noticing.

Read more