In Paris on Tuesday 22 November, the French, German and Italian economy ministers signed a new agreement on European launchers, in particular on Ariane 6 and Vega-C, on the sidelines of the European Space Agency (ESA) Ministerial Council.
In essence, this agreement consolidates the European preference for institutional launches, but also the financing of the Ariane 6 and Vega-C launchers, in return for reflecting on and developing the rules of ESA’s geographical return, a founding principle of the Agency that is regularly called into question (notably by the CEO of ArianeGroup - see EUROPE 13053/2). Finally, the document provides for the opening up of ESA programme launches to micro- and mini-launchers.
The three signatory countries invite ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, to present to ESA Member States “revised operating parameters related to public funding” by mid-2023. The idea is to reach a decision on the issue by the Member States in December 2023 and to set up “a new architecture” by June 2024 at the latest.
The issue of European launchers is one of the cornerstones of this Ministerial Council, as there are many tensions between these three Member States on this issue (see EUROPE 13067/14).
To consult the agreement: https://aeur.eu/f/46h (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)