11 comments

  • hypfer 40 minutes ago
    This is a huge success, but it I think also tells us that the EU is further decoupling itself from the US. Slowly but steadily.

    Which is obviously the right thing to do, but it's interesting that it's not just a hypothetical anymore.

    • manlymuppet 7 minutes ago
      I think we are stronger together. European technology has been critical to many important American space missions, and that should continue to be the case.

      An ecosystem where we develop things independently is one where everyone loses.

      • hypfer 1 minute ago
        Yes, definitely, but being together by choice instead of by necessity is vastly preferable.

        Especially given that recent history has shown us that we're back to "power" being the only language spoken.

      • eps 2 minutes ago
        > I think we are stronger together

        That's pretty damn obvious to everyone with a half of brain.

      • samrus 4 minutes ago
        I dont think the EU is stronger when they get bullied and undermined by trump, or whichever american president decides to dust off trump's playbook in the future
        • zormino 0 minutes ago
          I think the stronger together argument implies good faith co-operation on both sides
      • cyanydeez 4 minutes ago
        The opinion of american billionaires is driving this.
    • yellowapple 11 minutes ago
      The EU already had quite a bit of non-EU spaceflight capability, both in terms of rockets and launch sites.
      • decimalenough 7 minutes ago
        I think you meant non-US?

        Although Ariane's rockets are wildly expensive and uncompetitive compared to SpaceX.

        • sidewndr46 0 minutes ago
          No, counterintuitively Ariane is non-EU. It launches from South America
        • samrus 3 minutes ago
          Cost decreases with scale. Spacex was also wildly expensive, it grew up thanks to government assistance
          • holoduke 1 minute ago
            No because of reduction of bureaucracy. ESA is the prime example of 1 engineer to 50 managers culture.
    • ph4rsikal 31 minutes ago
      It is indeed a huge success but it also underlines how far ahead the rest of the world is.
      • hypfer 30 minutes ago
        I'd honestly rather like to use this opportunity to talk about that this is a success than returning to our regularly scheduled doomer loop.

        A rocket launched into orbit from Norway. That's insane progress and worth celebrating.

        • ericmay 25 minutes ago
          I'd prefer to use this opportunity to talk about this as a success as well without this America decoupling nonsense doomer loop too.

          Does anyone know if folks in Germany are posting about the huge ego and phallus shaped memes for this company doing something that SpaceX and Blue Origin were also doing? I'm guessing not, because the lens is "decoupling" and not "America bad" like so many felt inclined to report when our private companies were successfully launching rockets.

          Anyway, congrats to the team at Isar. I like to celebrate these successes around the world as further space exploration, colonization, science, and economic development benefit us as a species and there is a lot of room for a lot of competitors.

          • hypfer 22 minutes ago
            You know.. the things I get flagged for, and then you post stuff like this.

            I'm not even sure what to make out of that dismissal opener other than that you've apparently didn't like whatever I wrote.

            • ericmay 18 minutes ago
              Sometimes my comments get flagged by China/Russia bots. I don't really care. Upvotes mean people agree with me, downvotes including flags mean I'm right (flagged means I'm more right).

              Like you I'm tired of certain tropes that get repeated any time a conversation comes up with a tinge of geopolitical intrigue. The comments I get tired of are all of these decoupling comments which don't make sense. You get tired of people shitting on European technical and manufacturing capabilities. Me too. Both are lazy and boring, but unfortunately must be combatted.

              • hypfer 16 minutes ago
                I'm honestly not sure if this is the right platform then.

                And that's coming from me, who is already tiptoeing the letter of the law in pursuit of the spirit of the law.

                I don't see you contributing to the space here. Just to yourself and your self-image, maybe. Like.. not even trying.

                • ericmay 6 minutes ago
                  Well, if you don’t think it’s the right platform for you there’s no need to post or engage with it. I don’t use traditional social media platforms for example.

                  > I don't see you contributing to the space here. Just to yourself and your self-image, maybe. Like.. not even trying.

                  In that same spirit your comment wouldn’t have been contributing either. You don’t like to see comments I guess about people talking about how far behind the EU is as it continues to be eaten alive by American and Chinese industrial policy, and I don’t like comments about “decoupling”.

                • copper-float 4 minutes ago
                  Suggesting that we don't have to resort to silly propagandistic tropes means we're not on the right platform?

                  Surely it's the robots that endlessly parrot this nonsense that aren't in the right place. You've got it backwards.

    • atherton94027 11 minutes ago
      The french always had Ariane??
    • shevy-java 37 minutes ago
      That's good. The way how the USA changed makes any "alliance" void. Just look at how today the USA tried to hand over land of Ukraine to Putin, with incompetents such as Kushner. Agent Krasnov is serving all but the US population here - and he regards the EU as an enemy in addition to that. So, no more support to that crazy country. Canadians learned that lesson, the EU still has to learn it.
      • ericmay 21 minutes ago
        > Just look at how today the USA tried to hand over land of Ukraine to Putin

        Was it the land that Russia currently controls and Ukraine is very unlikely to retake? There's a spectrum between ideological behavior and pragmatic behavior. If Ukraine gives up this land and achieves peace, maybe it's worth it. I'm not suggesting it definitely is but at least the US is trying to negotiate or find some sort of solution, even if it's not going well.

        In retrospect the US should have prepared for war and been willing to fight to uphold what was agreed to with Russia but that would have been a hard sell.

        > So, no more support to that crazy country.

        Nah Europe will still support it. Nothing will change there. But if you want things to change, we can completely withdraw from NATO, move bases back from Europe where we see fit, and un-sanction Russia while no longer providing support to Ukraine in any fashion and no longer sell weapons to Europe. That would be a disaster for Europe, which is why I tend to think comments like this are either ignorant, or pro-Russia/Iran/China with the intent to further inflame whatever tensions exist.

        • JohnTHaller 1 minute ago
          Russia's word has been ironclad each time it's been given to Ukraine previously. It surely would be the same this time.
    • gilliethefoil 39 minutes ago
      [dead]
  • MisterMunchkin 59 minutes ago
    How can it be the first European rocket? There’s the ESA! Are you telling me we have all these organisations and none of them have ever launched from their own continent?
    • loeg 56 minutes ago
      Europe isn't on or remotely near the equator, which is somewhat favorable for launches.
    • Achterlangs 54 minutes ago
      ESA launches French Guiana. Since it is cheaper to launch closer to the equator with the extra speed provided by the earth's rotation.
      • sisve 36 minutes ago
        For satellites that should be in Sun-synchronous orbit Andøy is a great place to launch from
      • artisinal 43 minutes ago
        Really comes in handy to still have a couple of colonies near the equator.

        It's also better to have the massive amounts of emissions far away from your own population.

        • tristanj 32 minutes ago
          French Guiana is not a colony, it is a region of France. People who live there have the same constitutional rights as anyone living in mainland France.

          It has the same status in France as Alaska does in the US.

        • BSDobelix 27 minutes ago
          >Really comes in handy to still have a couple of colonies near the equator.

          >It's also better to have the massive amounts of emissions far away from your own population.

          That's the dumbest comment i read since a long time, thanks.

    • hypfer 37 minutes ago
      > How can it be the first European rocket?

      Not at all. You've missed the "Private" in the headline. And that it apparently is.

    • xixixao 38 minutes ago
      Article says Western Europe, but Norway is in Northern Europe.

      “First rocket to launch from Europe outside Russia” would have been perfectly correct.

      • setopt 22 minutes ago
        In the political sense, «Western Europe» is typically taken to be «NATO Europe», and «Eastern Europe» is «Warsaw Pact Europe». Which is different from a strict geographic definition.
    • dmaa 58 minutes ago
      They launch from Guiana afaik
    • mytailorisrich 48 minutes ago
      The French used to launch their rockets from Algeria. Their first satellite was launched from there. Since then they moved to (French) Guiana.

      The UK launched from Australia.

  • blini-kot 1 hour ago
    Plesetsk is also european soil.
    • kylecazar 57 minutes ago
      They're using "Europe" as political shorthand for Western Europe
    • seszett 1 hour ago
      Kourou as well, although maybe a different definition of European.
      • sisve 54 minutes ago
        Would maybe call it European territory but not soil. But yeah, as you say it's how you define it.
  • ChrisArchitect 50 minutes ago
  • capocasa 27 minutes ago
    This is such a breath of fresh air
  • milleramp 43 minutes ago
    Made with imipolex g?
  • verzali 40 minutes ago
    Fantastic job!
  • shevy-java 38 minutes ago
    The sooner Europe cuts itself off from the US crazy billionaires, the better - on all levels (software and manufacture processes are the two biggest issues). Today we already could see the US surrender team crawling up to dictator Putin. Enough is enough - agent Krasnov needs to be isolated.
    • manlymuppet 4 minutes ago
      I don’t think America is so far gone. We have issues sure, but I for one still believe that we can be better.

      Trump be damned, Europe and America are stronger when they work together.

      • samrus 0 minutes ago
        Americans have to hope that the US will move past trumo and not repeat that mistake, but for europeans its most prudent to prepare for a world where such a corrupt wannabe distator doesnt have have that much leverage over them.

        The US and europe would be stronger together if the US acted in good faith. Absent that, decoupling is the right choice

  • arthurpatch 42 minutes ago
    [flagged]
  • artisinal 50 minutes ago
    [flagged]
  • hinkley 47 minutes ago
    [flagged]