France To Mimic Musk With Own SpaceX-Style Launcher, Minister Says

European space company ArianeGroup will develop a reusable mini-launcher to compete with the likes of Elon Musk's SpaceX, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Monday. Reuters reports: The launcher "must be able to be operational in 2026," Le Maire said during a trip to the ArianeGroup site at Vernon in Normandy, where the engines of Ariane rockets are tested. "For the first time Europe...will have access to a reusable launcher. In other words, we will have our SpaceX, we will have our Falcon 9. We will make up for a bad strategic choice made 10 years ago," Le Maire said.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.