ESA will pay an Italian company nearly $50 million to design a mini-Starship

The European Space Agency signed a contract Monday with Avio, the Italian company behind the small Vega rocket, to begin designing a reusable upper stage capable of flying into orbit, returning to Earth, and launching again.

This is a feat more difficult than recovering and reusing a rocket’s booster stage, something European industry has also yet to accomplish. SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket has a recoverable booster, and several companies…