22/12/2022 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday, 21 December, the European Space Agency (ESA) and Arianespace decided to appoint an independent inquiry commission following the failure of the first commercial launch of Vega-C, the new European light launcher. This commission will be tasked with analysing the reasons for the failure and defining measures that fulfil all the safety and reliability conditions required to allow Vega-C flights to resume. It will be composed of independent experts who will work with Avio, the Vega-C launch system’s prime contractor. The new European launcher was destroyed following a failure during second-stage ignition. Its inaugural launch had, however, been successful (see EUROPE 12992/29). The previous Vega launcher—also manufactured in Italy—had already failed twice, leaving serious doubts as to its reliability (see EUROPE 12626/33 and 12295/21). (PH)