Vega C
Italian team to build satellite for European Commission’s Govsatcom project
The Italian Space Agency on July 23 kick-started development of a communications satellite that Italy will share with other nations as part of the pan-European GovSatCom program.
Airbus to build four imaging satellites for French space agency, mulls 20-plus constellation
Airbus and the French Space Agency CNES have agreed to cofinance a constellation of four Earth observation satellites while leaving the door open for Airbus to finance additional satellites with other partners.
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.
Arianespace says full Ariane 6 production held up by missing government contracts
With the maiden flight of the Ariane 6 now 18 months away (in July 2020), Arianespace CEO Stéphane Israël said the company had anticipated signing a manufacturing contract with ArianeGroup in the second part of last year to begin production beyond the first rocket.
Arianespace targets 12 launches this year, more counting OneWeb, Vega C debut
European launch provider Arianespace is planning to conduct a record number of Vega launches this year, and, if OneWeb is ready, a return to launching from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Thales Alenia Space to build ESA’s FLEX vegetation-monitoring satellite
Thales Alenia Space said Jan. 10 it received a contract from the European Space Agency worth approximately 150 million euros ($172.4 million) to build the Fluorescent Explorer satellite.
Italian military mulls smaller GEO satellites so it can launch them on Vega rockets
The Italian Ministry of Defense may use two satellites to replace a single existing satellite so that it can use the Italian-led Vega C or Vega E rocket, according to a defense official.
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.
Ariane 6 is nearing completion, but Europe’s work is far from over
ESA is pushing European industry to continue innovating and finding efficiencies even after Vega C’s introduction in 2019 and Ariane 6’s debut in 2020.
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.
Avanti CTO Retiring in June
Bestwick will be the second major executive departure for Avanti in less than a year. David Williams, chief executive and fellow co-founder, left the company in August 2017.
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.
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.
ArianeGroup futurist sees smallsat standardization as key for timely launch
Speaking at Space Tech Expo Europe, Marc Valés, head of future programs at ArianeGroup, said that in addition to the existing cubesat standard, 50-kilogram-class nanosatellites should also be standardized.
Small-rocket-builder Avio raises $66 million through stock listing
Italian launch vehicle producer Avio has raised 60 million euros ($65.6 million dollars) by selling slightly over two thirds of the company’s shares on Italy’s stock exchange.
