Italy, France, and Germany have reached a groundbreaking deal that will support future launches of the Ariane 6 and Avio’s smaller Vega-C rockets, according to Italy’s industry minister.
The Ariane 6, Europe’s highly anticipated heavyweight launcher developed by ArianeGroup, has faced delays due to technical issues. Its first test launch is now scheduled for 2024, four years after the original plan.
In July, the previous generation of heavy payload rockets, Ariane 5, was officially retired.
Aside from resolving immediate technical problems, European countries have been in disagreement over budgets and schedules for the future beyond the first 15 flights of the Ariane 6.
“This agreement establishes a set of core principles that will reignite the space sector, addressing long-standing disputes regarding launch availability and sites. It also lays the foundations for a new unified phase in Europe, enhancing its competitiveness globally,” stated Minister Urso.
The smaller Vega-C has been grounded since its failed launch on December 22. Italy has been advocating for the rocket to be marketed independently from Arianespace, the subsidiary of ArianeGroup that currently handles all major European launches.
The agreement reached on Monday now allows Avio, an Italian manufacturer, to operate Vega-C separately in addition to Arianespace’s current responsibilities, leading to a 2.9% increase in Avio shares in Milan.
The three-way agreement was finalized during a ministerial meeting of the European Space Agency (ESA) held in Seville, Spain.
The delay in Ariane 6 and Vega-C launches, combined with the interruption of western European nations’ access to Russia’s Soyuz program due to the conflict in Ukraine, has made launchers a critical issue for Europe in maintaining space access.
ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher expressed optimism last week, stating that efforts to bring Ariane 6 to the launchpad and restore Europe’s independent space access were progressing positively.
(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte; Writing by Cristina Carlevaro; Editing by Federico Maccioni, Tim Hepher)
