30/08/2021 (Agence Europe) – The member states of the European Space Agency (ESA) have revised the operating conditions for Europe’s future Ariane 6 and Vega C launchers after 2024, the specialist online journal Aerospatium reported on 20 August. Thus, the stated preference for European launchers should result in the guarantee of four Ariane 6 and two Vega C launches each year - with options for three more Ariane 6s and one more Vega C, we learn. These orders should help protect the launchers from commercial fluctuations. Initially, the resolution was to have been adopted on 13 July, but negotiations between France and Germany were reportedly difficult on the issue of micro-launchers, the newspaper reports. The two states reached an agreement at the end of July, but the details were kept secret at the time (see EUROPE 12767/11). (PH)