23/01/2020 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 22 January, Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for the Internal Market announced that four new European Ariane 6 launch vehicles had been pre-ordered to complete the European Galileo navigation programme constellation. He believes that the European Commission, which has already placed an order for two launches with Ariane 6 (see EUROPE 11863/28), has a key role to play in supporting the European launch vehicle industry by combining its orders. The objective is to support the European space sector, which is particularly exposed to the vagaries of commercial demand, and to consolidate investment with a view to developing new technologies. The Commissioner said that investment in reusable launchers should therefore be made now and, citing US competition, said that we should not “miss” the boat. The previous day, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank announced support of 100 million euros for Ariane 6 (see EUROPE 12408/10). (PH)