ESA will pay an Italian company nearly $50 million to design a mini-Starship
SMRTR summary
The European Space Agency signed a $47 million contract with Italian company Avio to design a fully reusable rocket upper stage that can return to Earth and launch again, copying SpaceX's Starship design approach. This challenging technology goes beyond basic booster recovery that European companies haven't yet achieved, representing Europe's attempt to catch up with SpaceX's advanced reusable rocket capabilities.
SMRTR provides this summary for quick context. The original article belongs to Ars Technica.
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