SpaceX - Uppskjutningar med mera

Falcon 9’s first stage rocket booster launched twice last year to deliver the Iridium-7 and SAOCOM 1A payloads to orbit

How do you say "we're losing the space race" in French?

For years, France's Arianespace space launch company, a subsidiary of Airbus (NASDAQOTH:EADSY), has struggled to compete with SpaceX in the market for commercial rocket launches. Here's the problem: Your average Ariane launch costs some $200 million, whereas SpaceX famously advertises Falcon 9 rocket rides for as little as $62 million.

Obviously, it's hard for Ariane to compete with prices that low. So to improve its competitive positioning, Ariane has spent the last few years developing a new family of rockets, dubbed "Ariane 6". Its goal: to bring Ariane's average launch cost down to about $77 million (for a payload capacity similar to Falcon 9's) or $126 million (for something closer to what a SpaceX Falcon Heavy will haul).

That sounds like a good idea. But as France's CDC opines, Ariane 6 may be too little, too late.

Weather at the LZ continues to be miserable, but is down to 3.2m high waves from 4.6 earlier.

Highest reentry heating to date. Burning metal sparks from base heat shield visible in landing video. Fourth relight scheduled for April.

The Demo-1 Flight Readiness Review has concluded. The Board set March 2 at 2:48 a.m. EST as the official launch date for @SpaceX's flight to @Space_Station.