Avio
Avio gets pandemic recovery funds to develop launchers for the 2030s
Italian rocket maker Avio secured 340 million euros ($358 million) in government funding June 29 to develop launch vehicles for the next decade.
Avio Q&A: Powering the growth trajectory
SpaceNews interviews Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo as the rocket maker is just weeks away from Vega C’s debut. Avio is also ramping up production of boosters to meet Amazon’s colossal Ariane 6 order, and could potentially accelerate the development of the next-generation Vega E as Russia’s war in Ukraine threatens suppliers.
Vega C to launch Sentinel-1C in 2023
The European Space Agency will launch its Sentinel-1C radar imaging satellite on a Vega C rocket in 2023 as the agency continues to study potential impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on that launch vehicle.
Vega rocket passes readiness review for April return to flight
Avio spokesperson Francesco Delorenzo told SpaceNews that Vega was cleared for the upcoming Vega VV18 mission during a March 3 flight readiness review.
Investigation confirms improperly connected cables caused Vega launch failure
An independent investigation of a Vega launch failure in November confirmed that misconnected cables in the rocket’s upper stage doomed the mission and made recommendations to allow a return to flight in early 2021.
€167 million Space Rider contract funds construction of Europe’s first orbital spaceplane
The European Space Agency has signed a €167 million ($200 million) contract with Thales Alenia Space Italy and Avio to deliver Space Rider — Europe's first robotic orbital spaceplane — in time for a mid-to-late 2023 launch atop an expendable rocket.
Avio CEO promises Vega’s rapid return to flight as CNES plots replacement satellite
The head of Italian rocket manufacturer Avio assured customers Nov. 19 that the company was working hard to return Vega to service following the rocket’s second failure in its last three launches.
Vega C debut slips to mid-2021
Europe’s next-generation Vega C rocket won’t launch until at least the middle of 2021, the rocket’s manufacturer said Monday.
Avio seeking to compress Vega launch delays
Italian rocket builder Avio will keep a team of launch personnel in French Guiana from May through August in the hopes of completing three Vega launches this year, notwithstanding coronavirus-related slowdowns.
Avio, exempt from Italy’s coronavirus lockdown, seeks reopening of French Guiana spaceport
Since 60% of Avio’s revenue comes from manufacturing, the French government’s March 16 decision to suspend launches from the Guiana Space Center shouldn’t impact revenues as long as Europe’s South American spaceport reopens within two to three months, Ranzo said.
ESA setting aside funds for Vega launcher return to flight
The European Space Agency is preparing to allocate a few million euros to ensure Vega doesn’t have any repeats of its July launch failure, an agency official said Nov. 20.
Avio anticipates Vega C upgrade funding at ESA ministerial, Vega return to flight in March
Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo said during a Nov. 7 earnings call, said Vega is on track for a return to flight by March, though what payload will launch on the mission is still to be determined.
Second stage blamed as Vega targets early 2020 return to flight
Investigators think Vega’s failure originated in the forward dome area of the Zefiro-23, the second of three solid-fueled stages the rocket expends to deliver satellites to orbit.
Arianespace Vega launch fails, Emirati satellite lost
The fifteenth launch of a European Vega rocket ended in failure July 10, resulting in the loss of an imaging satellite for the United Arab Emirates.
Avio gets ESA assurance for transition missions from Vega to Vega C
Giulio Ranzo, CEO of Avio, the Colleferro, Italy, company that builds the Vega and future Vega C rocket, said the ESA council session included missions for both Avio-built rockets during the transition years to Vega C.
Vega rocket-builder Avio sees revenue jump, new rockets progressing
Avio, the company that builds Europe’s light-lift Vega rocket and the future Vega C, reported a double-digit jump in revenue for its first full year as a publicly traded company.
Small launch vehicle companies see rideshare as an opportunity and a threat
Developers of small launch vehicles, who have promoted their vehicles as providing dedicated access to space for small satellites, say they’re also open to flying rideshare missions as they face competition from larger rockets.
FIRST UP Satcom | Avio takes 10M euro loan • Iridium launches Certus • NanoAvionics opens UK office
Italian rocket builder Avio is borrowing 10 million euros from the European Investment Bank. The funds will support new space propulsion technologies for Europe’s next-generation Vega C and Ariane 6 launchers, the company said.
