European rocket politics are complicated by the “geographic return rule,” which states that each member nation must receive a proportional amount of contracts to the amount of funding it contributes to the space agency. “With the dawn of New Space and the delays in Ariane 6 launcher development, an ongoing debate has emerged about whether geo-return is consistent with the competition and competitiveness that is needed in Europe’s space industry,” Aschbacher wrote in March.
Speculation, over at Bob Zimmerman’s place. I make no predictions, but I obviously hope it’s sooner than later.
I’ve been at ASCEND in Vegas for the past three days, and tonight I have a red eye to DC to do final prep for the trial on Monday, so blogging will continue to be light.