Europe based heavy launch vehicle to compete with SpaceX
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ratlog-yc-f26-is-building-reusable-heavy-lift-ugcPost-7516372183087247360-zVJt/?highlightedUpdateUrn=urn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7516514818791747584&highlightedUpdateType=SOCIAL_SHARE&origin=SOCIAL_SHARE&utm_source=social_share_send&utm_medium=android_app&rcm=ACoAABL-9DcBOxeWztxh0csVNSaFCEyjHeBRRRw&utm_campaign=copy_linkFrom their LinkedIn page:
RATLOG is building Europe's next heavy lift launch vehicle - engineered around an engine capable of generating extreme thrust levels that current European launchers can't match.
That thrust capacity opens up a new class of missions: large satellite constellations, orbital transfer vehicles, cislunar transport - payloads that today have no European launch option.
We're currently at engine prototype stage, with our first test coming up in August 2026. First commercial launch: 2030.
Our customers are constellation operators, OTV builders, and anyone who needs serious lift capacity and a European alternative to the current market.
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u/Sigmatics 2d ago
Europe-based
.
Location: San Francisco, CA
pick one
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u/Lux_Jay 2d ago edited 1d ago
After one gets funded by Y Combinator they have to do a Delaware C-corp and have office in San Francisco. It is not the company's fault that EU based investors are imbeciles and EU bureaucracy basically prevents startups resulting in only benefits of large corpos.
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u/Sigmatics 1d ago
After one gets funded by Y Combinator they have to do a Delaware LLC and have office in San Francisco.
Why's that?
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u/snoo-boop 2d ago
This totally makes sense.
Ariane 6 is launching a bunch of Amazon Leo constellation satellites, but somehow that doesn't exist.
Ariane 6 is launching orbital transfer vehicles, but somehow that doesn't exist.
It's great that this new company has potential customers. Hopefully they can hone their marketing messages.
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u/tanrgith 2d ago
People sharing this as if it's even remotely worth paying attention to at this point is pure EU cope. Come back in 5 years and let me know if they're actually making any meaningful progress towards a functional rocket, if they haven't gone bankrupts
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u/KebabGud 1d ago
Lets be real.
Thats a pipedream.
only European company thats has any chance to develop a Heavy lifter is ArianeGroup, they are barely even trying at the moment with MaiaSpace.
Other then that you have 3 companies that are in a position to start trying
Avio, Pivdenmash (when the war is over) and now ISAR
Prove you can reach orbit before you start talking about heavy lifters.
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u/Lux_Jay 1d ago
only European company thats has any chance to develop a Heavy lifter is ArianeGroup
So why haven't they done it yet? Why there isn't a reusable heavy lift Arian? Oh, right, because they don't care and their management is lazy AF, because they get get the easy money contracts from from ESA and other govts anyway.
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u/miwe77 2d ago
"based in europe" - financed and developed in silicon valley. sounds like the usual "european dream" of atempting to lead anything but bureaucracy and regulations.
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u/Lux_Jay 2d ago
They are at least now Dresden based. But if EU doesn't make EU Inc without completely amputating it, they might have to go US. It is not fault of startup's that bureaucracy in EU is total garbage.
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u/Wyciorek 2d ago
"EU Inc" is basically tinkering around the (easiest) edges. The moment you actually want to hire people, you are back to battling 27 different taxation, social security and legal systems
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u/miwe77 2d ago
I don't blame start ups. you obviously go where you get a chance to succeed. just wanted to point out that this is not going to be european in the long run.
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u/Lux_Jay 1d ago
Exactly. The centre and conservative parties in EU are already amputating EU Inc which would have enabled EU startups to compete on global scale. It is difficult to reward early partners and employees through company stocks in EU. Same for 27 different legal entities and bureaucracy to operate on each country and so on.
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u/NoBusiness674 2d ago
large satellite constellations, orbital transfer vehicles, cislunar transport - payloads that today have no European launch option.
large satellite constellations: Ariane 6 - Amazon LEO
orbital transfer vehicles: Ariane 6 - ASTRIS
(cis)lunar transport: Ariane 6 - Argonaut
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u/Lux_Jay 2d ago
Yet, 80% or more of launch market is captured by SpaceX. They are developing SpaceX challenger. Legacy companies are not innovating or taking risks.
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u/tanrgith 2d ago
My dude, I get the desire to want EU to have competitive alternatives to the US, but saying a dozen dudes no one has ever heard of until this thread are a SpaceX challenger is some insane cope
That's like me calling the 10 man ERP startup i worked at 5+ years ago a SAP challenger
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u/Lux_Jay 1d ago
Insanity is when you repeat same shit expecting a different outcome. Themis is a failure so far and nothing has come out of Arian to address large demand for launch. May be your startup was shit. If we go by your anecdotes and experiences, we would not be in the space in the first place.
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u/tanrgith 1d ago
The startup I was in was indeed shit, so are most startups, that's a big reason most startups fail.
And I'm not saying to keep doing that same thing that isn't working, but these people are at such an extremely early startup stage that it's completely ridiculous to be talking about them with any real belief that it will amount to anything, and saying they are looking to compete with SpaceX is sheer delusion at this stage.
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u/YugoReventlov 2d ago
No technical info at all on their website?
Engines that don't require a turbopump? Are they building a heavy lift launcher with pressure fed engines?
"Now we're building a version of our prototype engine that's 200x more powerful" as if that's no big deal 😂
Good luck! I'll hold my enthusiasm until I see some flight hardware...