ArianeGroup subsidiary MaiaSpace is examining the possibility of doubling the performance of all variants of its Maia rocket “if market response for such a configuration is favorable.” According to the company, this upgrade would involve the addition of a fourth Prometheus rocket engine powering its first stage and would not increase the average cost per launch.
MaiaSpace is currently working toward an early 2027 debut of Maia. The two-stage rocket’s first and second stages are powered by Prometheus methalox engines developed by ArianeGroup under a European Space Agency contract for the Themis demonstrator.
During a Paris Air Forum event on 12 June, MaiaSpace CEO Yohan Leroy announced the company’s plan to upgrade the rocket with the goal of doubling its overall performance. Speaking to European Spaceflight, a spokesperson for the company explained that the upgrade was a planned “two-year development project that MaiaSpace will launch if market response for such a configuration is favorable, once it has demonstrated the three-engine version.”
With the addition of a fourth Prometheus engine powering the rocket’s first stage, Maia will, according to the spokesperson, be capable of delivering up to 8 tonnes to low Earth orbit “without increasing the cost per launch [on] average.”
The addition of a fourth Prometheus engine would, however, have a non-negligible effect on the cost of the rocket. In June 2024, ArianeGroup stated that one of the goals of the Prometheus programme was “to build future liquid propellant engines with a unit cost of about 1 million euros.” So, at the very least, it would add €1 million to the cost of building each Maia first stage.
In addition to doubling its top-end performance, the spokesperson explained that it would double the performance of all variants of the rocket, including its reusable configuration. Currently, the rocket is capable of delivering just 500 kilograms to low Earth orbit when its first stage is recovered.
Asked whether additional engines could further improve its performance, the spokesperson said that Maia could serve as a precursor to a future family of reusable launch vehicles. They did, however, stress that the company is currently focused on delivering the rocket in its current configuration.
“The Prometheus high and variable-thrust engine as well as stage recovery technologies are scalable and can be implemented on launchers of larger capacities for a fraction of the costs necessary to develop a new launch vehicle, allowing strong perspective of performance increase, depending on market evolution,” said the spokesperson. “In this way, Maia can be considered as a precursor of a future family of reusable, cost-effective and eco-designed European launchers. But it is important to understand that we are not in a techno-push mode. Our approach is to try and best answer to market demand.”
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