11 comments

  • hypfer 20 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.

    • ph4rsikal 12 minutes ago
      It is indeed a huge success but it also underlines how far ahead the rest of the world is.
      • hypfer 10 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 5 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 2 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.

    • shevy-java 17 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 1 minute 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.

    • gilliethefoil 19 minutes ago
      [dead]
  • MisterMunchkin 39 minutes 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 37 minutes ago
      Europe isn't on or remotely near the equator, which is somewhat favorable for launches.
    • Achterlangs 34 minutes 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.
      • artisinal 23 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 12 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 7 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.

      • sisve 16 minutes ago
        For satellites that should be in Sun-synchronous orbit Andøy is a great place to launch from
    • xixixao 18 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 2 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 17 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 38 minutes ago
      They launch from Guiana afaik
      • echoangle 30 minutes ago
        French Guiana to be exact, which is a different country
    • mytailorisrich 28 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.

  • capocasa 7 minutes ago
    This is such a breath of fresh air
  • blini-kot 53 minutes ago
    Plesetsk is also european soil.
    • kylecazar 37 minutes ago
      They're using "Europe" as political shorthand for Western Europe
    • seszett 46 minutes ago
      Kourou as well, although maybe a different definition of European.
      • sisve 35 minutes ago
        Would maybe call it European territory but not soil. But yeah, as you say it's how you define it.
  • milleramp 23 minutes ago
    Made with imipolex g?
  • ChrisArchitect 30 minutes ago
  • verzali 21 minutes ago
    Fantastic job!
  • shevy-java 18 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.
  • arthurpatch 22 minutes ago
    [flagged]
  • artisinal 30 minutes ago
    [flagged]
  • hinkley 27 minutes ago
    [flagged]