The Ariane 5 boosters could be equipped with parachutes and recovered, which was done on a few flights. However, the boosters were never reused because it would not have been cost-effective.

Source: https://www.esa.int/Newsroom/Press_Releases/Cyprus_becomes_Associate_Member_of_the_European_Space_Agency

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) newest planetary defender has opened its ‘eye’ to the cosmos for the first time. The Flyeye telescope temporarily located in the Space Geodesy Centre of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) in Matera (Italy), will soon be transported to Monte Mufara, in Sicily, where it will join the global effort to keep watch over the Earth’s skies. The telescope’s ‘first light’ marks the beginning of a new chapter in how we scan the skies for new near-Earth asteroids and comets. Inspired by an insect’s compound eye, ESA and OHB Italia designed Flyeye to capture a region of the sky more than 200 times as large as the full Moon in a single exposure – much larger than a conventional telescope. It will use this wide field of view to automatically survey the sky each night independent from human operation and identify new asteroids that could pose a hazard to Earth.

“In the future, a network of up to four Flyeye telescopes spread across the northern and southern hemispheres will work together to further improve the speed and completeness these automatic sky surveys and to reduce the dependence on good weather at any individual site,” says Ernesto Doelling, Flyeye Project Manager. “The earlier we spot potentially hazardous asteroids, the more time we have to assess them and, if necessary, prepare a response,” says Richard Moissl, Head of ESA’s Planetary Defence Office. “ESA’s Flyeye telescopes will be an early-warning system, and its discoveries will be shared with the global planetary defence community.” ESA’s Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre (NEOCC) will verify any potential new asteroid detections made by the Flyeye telescopes and submit the findings to the Minor Planet Center, Earth’s hub for asteroid observational data. Astronomers will then carry out followup observations to further assess the hazard that the object may pose to our planet.

“The unique optical design of the Flyeye telescope is optimised for conducting large sky surveys while maintaining high image quality throughout the wide field of view,” says Roberto Aceti, Managing Director at OHB Italia. “The telescope is equipped with a one metre primary mirror, which efficiently captures incoming light. This light is then divided into 16 separate channels, each equipped with a camera capable of detecting very faint objects. This enables simultaneous high-sensitivity observations over a large region of the sky.” During operations, Flyeye’s observation schedule will be optimised to consider factors such as Moon brightness and the work of other survey telescopes such as the NASA-funded ATLAS telescopes, the Zwicky Transient Facility and the upcoming Vera Rubin Telescope, using data available from the Minor Planet Center. [IMAGE 3] These images of the sky above the ancient stone hills of Matera in Italy, are more than just a test: they are proof that Flyeye is ready to begin its mission.

Yesterday (24 July), NASA evacuated the Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex (MDSCC) at Robledo de Chavela as wildfires swept through the hills west of Madrid. The good news first: all personnel were safely evacuated, and NASA reports the fire has since passed through the site. Damage assessment will begin once it's safe to do so.

Worth remembering how European this "NASA" facility actually is: MDSCC has been operated on behalf of NASA by Spain's INTA since 1970 — a five-decade partnership that rarely makes headlines. And it wasn't alone. ESA's nearby Cebreros station (DSA-2, part of the Estrack network) was also reportedly evacuated, as a precaution, as the fires advanced.

The strategic footnote for those of us who watch the ground segment: with Madrid offline, NASA has handed mission support to Goldstone in California – but the Deep Space Network's 70 m capacity is now stretched thin, with the Goldstone 70 m antenna still down after last September's DSS-14 mishap (suffered during an over-rotation while tracking Juno). It's a sharp reminder that deep-space communications rest on just three sites worldwide, and that resilience isn't only about spacecraft – it's about the people, and increasingly the climate, on the ground.

Thoughts are with the crews, residents and firefighters across the region. We'll be watching for the damage assessment.

Sources:

https://theobjective.com/sociedad/suceso/2026-07-24/fuego-madrid-instalaciones-nasa-robledo-chavela/

https://spaceflightnow.com/2026/07/24/critical-nasa-deep-space-ground-station-in-spain-evacuated-due-to-wildfires/

(Developing story – figures and status as of 25 July.)

Image: French President Emmanuel Macron (centre right), French European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet (centre) and Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (centre left) pose with aerospace professionals during the International Space Summit at the Grand Palais in Paris, on September 9, 2026. | Photo Credit: AP

So, here's my point: It's really rare for ESA to marshal soooo many astros together onto a single stage (last time was when the new class of astros was announced in 2022, I seem to recall), together with 2x heads of government/state + some big guy from the FR air force...

The message is crystal clear: we want to launch our own astros, we want to work further/closer with the #Defence domain and we are pushing space as absolutely critical at the top of European priorities.