Avio bags €40M ESA contract for reusable rocket stage, but don't hold your breath Italian rocket company Avio has signed a €40 million contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop a reusable upper stage, a project already drawing skepticism from industry watchers. The 24-month contract covers the requirements, design, and enabling technologies necessary to develop a demonstrator capable of …
Interesting. Wouldn't a smaller (than starship) upper stage have to deal with more heating?
I thought there was an advantage for big blunt objects re-entering the atmosphere?
Also, how small can you make an upper stage that has to carry control surfaces, thermal protection and either a dash of fuel for landing or big parachutes and airbags?
>significant step forward [...] toward full reusability
"A step forward" does not mean doing the thing. The meaning of "significant" is wholly subjective.
>aims to define the requirements, system design and enabling technologies
"Defining requirements" is not construction.
"System design" is not construction.
"Enabling technologies" could mean anything.
>The activities will cover both the flight and ground segments and will culminate in the definition of an integrated preliminary system design.
"Cover" could mean anything, including merely "discuss".
"Definition of a preliminary design" is not construction. If that's what the work will "culminate in", it doesn't sound like the work is involving anything material.
>Avio will contribute its extensive technical and industrial expertise [...] as well as the knowledge [...]
Expertise and knowledge are not construction.
I could go on, but I think you get it? This is entirely brain work. I doubt that anyone is even tightening a screw as part of this contract. Those 40m are ultimately buying maybe some skills, consensus between different actors on some important things, and a big document.
I'm not saying it's a waste of money; brain work is important. Just, let's keep things in perspective.
As the article mentions, not even SpaceX has been able to do this.
The first problem with recovering an upper stage is all the energy that the rocket put in on the way up has to come back out -- with zero fuel to do so. The second problem is the best shape to do that is the worst shape for an upper stage.
This is like inventing TV with the requirement that it be HD, or designing the Model T with the requirement that it go 100mph and be self driving. That's not going to happen no matter how much you wish and click your heels.
