Link: https://europeanspaceflight.substack.com/p/arianegroup-has-no-plan-b

Europe has a reusable rocket program. The trouble is it's progressing at a slow pace. That didn't matter so much when Europe was part of an alliance with other countries, and could share their space tech. That old world is disappearing fast, and likely never coming back.

Instead, what used to be allies in a world of shared values based on international law has been replaced by authoritarianism, and where there used to be NASA, an oligarch-captured space program. Now former allies are siding with Europe's enemies, and talking openly about the destruction of the continent's political system.
This dithering, relaxed European approach to space tech doesn't cut it anymore. Europe needs its own Starlink system, and it needed it yesterday. Technology sovereignty isn't just about AI & replacing Windows OS.

​
ArianeGroup has no Plan B

​
Ukraine says SpaceX limits Starlink operations, disrupting military