Laure Dautriche 7:41 a.m., February 17, 2022

In Eure, rockets are recycled.

Ariane Group is developing the Themis reusable launcher project.

The machine will be able to return to land vertically on its launch pad or on a barge.

Because to be competitive, you have to reduce the cost of access to space, but also make the environment a priority.

Wednesday opened in Toulouse the summit devoted to space.

European officials are discussing in particular the future of manned flights of European rockets, Ariane 6 and subsequent ones.

Faced with extreme competition from private companies in this field, Europe in space is looking in particular at the roadmap for future programmes.

In particular the reusable rockets, the first tests of which will take place in the spring at Vernon in Normandy.

But in the Eure, rockets are already being recycled: Ariane Group is in the process of developing the Themis reusable launcher project.

Engines ten times cheaper

In hangars in the middle of the forest, the rockets of tomorrow are being built: a rocket stage demonstrator capable of returning to the sea after launch to be reused, engines ten times cheaper than today printed in 3D which will be lit in the spring for initial tests lasting a few tens of seconds.

Commissioning will take place from 2026.

>> Find the morning of the day in replay and podcast here

And for Jean-Christophe Henoux, the director of future programs for Ariane Groupe, it is absolutely necessary to be competitive.

"We are developing an ultra-low-cost engine designed for at least 5 reuses, which will reduce the cost of access to space. Where Europe stands out, it is on the environmental criterion, that we do take priority."

Where SpaceX's American rockets run on kerosene, these European rockets will indeed be powered by oxygen and liquid methane tanks, which are also easier to use.