It is 5:00 p.m. local time on July 15, 2030, in Kourou, French Guiana, and the final countdown is underway for Ariane Next, Europe’s first reusable launcher. The last decade has brought an accelerated evolution of the launchers built by ArianeGroup under the leadership of the European Space Agency (ESA). Ariane 6 had a relatively brief career—almost three times shorter than its predecessor. Rewind to 2018. The launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, although it was of limited ...
