European version of SpaceX's Starship? ESA signs deal for reusable upper stage demonstrator

SYDNEY — The European Space Agency and Avio will work together to develop a reusable rocket upper stage as the agency looks to transform its space launch capabilities.

The European Space Agency (ESA) and Avio signed a two-year contract worth 40 million euros (about $47 million U.S. at current exchange rates) on Monday (Sept. 29) at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) here in Sydney, Australia, with the goal of preparing for in-flight demonstration of a reusable upper stage.

The work will cover the preliminary design and the technologies for the ground and flight segments required for an upper stage demonstrator.

It's too soon to know what the test vehicle will look like, but ESA put out a possible signpost on Monday. The agency posted on X a rendering that looks a lot like SpaceX's Starship megarocket upper stage.

The two-stage Starship is designed to be fully and rapidly reusable, which would be a potentially revolutionary spaceflight advance. Rocket upper stages, which deliver payloads to their desired orbits, typically remain in orbit or burn up on reentry to Earth's atmosphere. (First stages have historically been expendable as well, but SpaceX has changed that with its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy vehicles.)

"I am glad to sign this contract since its importance is two-fold: on one side it addresses technological criticalities in the short-term; on the other side, it paves the way for the preparation of Europe's long-term future in space," ESA's Director of Space Transportation Toni Tolker-Nielsen said in a statement.

ESA says the move capitalizes on progress made in advanced liquid propulsion, reentry, recoverability and reusability technologies. The upper stage could be used on future Vega rockets, also developed by Italian multinational Avio, or other European rockets.

The agency recently created the European Launcher Challenge to promote the development of new rockets and boost Europe's access to space. ESA is also working on a reusable space plane known as Space Rider, while ArianeGroup announced plans for the "Susie" reusable upper stage at the IAC in Paris in 2022.

ESA is not the only space actor looking to develop an upper stage or follow in the footsteps of SpaceX. The design of China's own Long March 9 super heavy-lift rocket has been drastically altered in recent years, moving from an initially expendable launcher to a system similar to Starship and to also be eventually fully reusable.