A little light at the end of the tunnel for Ariane 6. While a European space summit is currently being held in Spain until Tuesday, November 7, France, Germany and Italy are committed to hand in pocket to ensure the viability of the rocket, which was years late and still has not made its first launch. Ariane 6 faces competition from other space powers, but also from private companies such as the American SpaceX.
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Negotiations lasted hundreds of hours for six months, but Paris, Berlin and Rome finally agreed to put up to 340 million euros per year into Ariane 6 from 2026. This is the amount that was necessary to ensure the viability of the space program. The agreement concluded this Monday, November 6 is therefore decisive according to France, the main financier of the rocket.
Indeed, costs have exploded due to inflation and the rise in energy prices in particular. Ariane 6 has accumulated delays and has still not launched into space, although it should have started doing so in 2020. Given that Ariane 5 made its last launch this summer, Europe is finds itself dependent on foreign countries, and forced to call on the private American company SpaceX to launch its Galileo satellites next year.
Germany, for its part, obtained in this text the opening to competition between European countries for small rockets, for example those designed by start-ups.
France was pleased on Monday to have reached an agreement with Germany and Italy guaranteeing in particular the financing of the next 42 launches of the Ariane 6 rocket.
“ It is a major success and a decisive moment for European space history. It preserves European unity on the question of access to space », declared the French Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire.
Italy, for its part, indicated that the agreement should allow the Italian manufacturer Avio to operate the Vega-C launcher independently, in parallel with existing arrangements with Arianespace. The Vega-C rocket, smaller than Ariane 6, has been grounded since a failed launch late last year.
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