41 comments

  • hypfer 36 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 3 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.

        samrus a few seconds 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

        cyanydeez a few seconds ago

        The opinion of american billionaires is driving this.

      yellowapple 8 minutes ago

      The EU already had quite a bit of non-EU spaceflight capability, both in terms of rockets and launch sites.

        decimalenough 3 minutes ago

        I think you meant non-US?

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

      ph4rsikal 28 minutes ago

      It is indeed a huge success but it also underlines how far ahead the rest of the world is.

        hypfer 26 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 22 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 18 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 14 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 13 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 2 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”.

      atherton94027 7 minutes ago

      The french always had Ariane??

      shevy-java 33 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 17 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.

  • MisterMunchkin an hour 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 an hour ago

      Europe isn't on or remotely near the equator, which is somewhat favorable for launches.

      Achterlangs an hour 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 32 minutes ago

        For satellites that should be in Sun-synchronous orbit Andøy is a great place to launch from

        artisinal 39 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 28 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 24 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.

      xixixao 34 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 19 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.

      hypfer 33 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.

      dmaa an hour ago

      They launch from Guiana afaik

      mytailorisrich 44 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 an hour ago

    Plesetsk is also european soil.

      kylecazar an hour ago

      They're using "Europe" as political shorthand for Western Europe

      seszett an hour ago

      Kourou as well, although maybe a different definition of European.

        sisve an hour ago

        Would maybe call it European territory but not soil. But yeah, as you say it's how you define it.

  • ChrisArchitect an hour ago
  • capocasa 24 minutes ago

    This is such a breath of fresh air

  • milleramp 39 minutes ago

    Made with imipolex g?

  • verzali 37 minutes ago

    Fantastic job!

  • shevy-java 34 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.