Avio
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.
Arianespace signs fifth Vega C contract
European launch provider Arianespace signed a contract with the Korean Aerospace Research Institute for a Vega C mission Sept. 20, growing the rocket’s backlog to five as its debut launch nears.
European solid rocket passes key test
A solid rocket booster designed for both the Ariane 6 and Vega C next-generation launchers completed a successful test firing Monday, clearing a hurdle for the maiden flights of both vehicles.
Germany trades P120 booster production for Ariane 6 turbo pumps, upper stage carbon fiber research
European Space Agency member states have agreed to keep all production of P120 solid rocket boosters in Italy instead of opening a second production line in Germany.
Avio eyes larger chunk of smallsat launch market
The light-lift Vega rocket is Europe’s vehicle of choice for small satellites, but has mainly launched spacecraft weighing hundreds of kilograms. While that’s smaller than what Arianespace normally launches on an Ariane 5 or Soyuz, it’s not the “small” that people generally think of when they think smallsats.
Avio expanding Vega launch abilities, mulls “light” mini-variant
Designers of Europe’s light-lift Vega rocket are creating a slew of new products intended to lure prospective customers away from India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and to fend off the coming wave of launch startups that are developing dedicated rockets for cubesats and other small satellites.
ESA pours $107 million into Vega E and a reusable spaceplane
The European Space Agency today committed 89.7 million euros ($106.7 million) split between a new advanced iteration of the Vega launcher and the successor to a spaceplane demonstrator that flew in 2015.
Arianespace, Avio launch 10th Vega rocket, orbit two Israeli-made satellites
Arianespace’s smallest rocket launched two remote sensing satellites co-produced by Israeli and European teams on an Aug. 1 night mission from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
