Europe is working to develop reusable rockets by the early 2030s

A white rocket is hoisted by yellow cranes

Hoisting the Themis T1H demonstrator on the launch pad at Esrange Spaceport in Sweden. (Image credit: Swedish Space Corporation/ArianeGroup–Mattias Forsberg)

Europe's ArianeGroup is set to fly a series of demonstrators in a bid to develop sovereign reusable launch capabilities.

"Callisto, Themis and Skyhopper are different demonstration programs contributing to the development of a European reusable launch vehicle," Franck Koebel of France-based ArianeGroup said during a technical presentation at the International Astronautical Congress in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 1.

The first Themis vehicle module — named T1H (Themis-1 engine-Hop), a 98.4-foot-tall (30 meters), 11.5-foot-wide (3.5 m) demonstrator — has already been transported to Esrange Spaceport in Kiruna. The vehicle has had landing legs installed, part of the preparations for a launch and landing test expected to take place in the near future.

Themis aims to demonstrate a vertical landing in a low-altitude test, demonstrating stable descent, a soft touchdown and controlled fuel use.

Koebel outlined a roadmap that will see Themis be followed by the later Callisto and Skyhopper efforts, which introduce multi-engine configurations and foldable landing legs. "It's a progressive increase in complexity. First non-foldable landing legs, then foldable ones, and later multi-engine configurations," Koebel said.

The flight campaign will be organized through the SALTO (reuSable strAtegic space Launcher Technology and Operations initiative) project as part of the European Union's Horizon Europe programme.

"The challenge is not particularly the science or the physics behind it, but rather: How in Europe are we able to master the needed technologies?" Koebel said.

The white cylindrical body of a rocket is hoisted horizontally onto the flat bed of a truck. — The THEMIS T1H being moved. (Image credit: Swedish Space Corporation/ArianeGroup–Mattias Forsberg)

The pathway aims at a full-stage recovery demonstration around 2027-2028, with potential operational capability to follow in the early 2030s, depending on results and funding continuity from the European Space Agency and elsewhere. The program, according to ArianeGroup, aims to boost European autonomous access to space.

Andrew is a freelance space journalist with a focus on reporting on China's rapidly growing space sector. He began writing for Space.com in 2019 and writes for SpaceNews, IEEE Spectrum, National Geographic, Sky & Telescope, New Scientist and others. Andrew first caught the space bug when, as a youngster, he saw Voyager images of other worlds in our solar system for the first time. Away from space, Andrew enjoys trail running in the forests of Finland. You can follow him on Twitter @AJ_FI.

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