Space Rider
The Space19+ minister funded development of Space Rider, a reusable spacecraft that could launch and return payloads as soon as 2022. The project was a key priority for Italy, which provided three-fourths of the funding for it. Credit: ESA

SEVILLE, Spain — Italy, one of the largest contributors to the European Space Agency, is pleased with the outcome of the recent ministerial meeting that provided funding for a number of its priorities, including a reusable spacecraft.

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Jeff Foust writes about space policy, commercial space, and related topics for SpaceNews. He earned a Ph.D. in planetary sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree with honors in geophysics and planetary science...