The Soyuz is not a bad rocket, neither is the Ariane. It is just that technology has advanced quite significantly in the last few years.
And rockets are just a (very visible) part of space technology.
Okay lets see. What I meant is: at its time, the Ariane 5 was a great program.
Now is a different time. Now we have got SpaceX (and RocketLab etc.) and at the same time the Ariane 6 is already outdated before it is ever launched. At the same time, the Ariane 6 program has run into major delays, so it is not even clear when the first launch will be – probably 2024.
Reusable rocket technology is where it’s at if we as Europeans want to stay relevant in the commercial launch sector.
Is US rocket supremacy why Союз rockets were bringing most of the US stuff into LEO the last 20 years or so?
The Soyuz is not a bad rocket, neither is the Ariane. It is just that technology has advanced quite significantly in the last few years. And rockets are just a (very visible) part of space technology.
Quite a turnaround you made here. From clusterfuck to not bad in 1 comment
Okay lets see. What I meant is: at its time, the Ariane 5 was a great program. Now is a different time. Now we have got SpaceX (and RocketLab etc.) and at the same time the Ariane 6 is already outdated before it is ever launched. At the same time, the Ariane 6 program has run into major delays, so it is not even clear when the first launch will be – probably 2024.
Reusable rocket technology is where it’s at if we as Europeans want to stay relevant in the commercial launch sector.