Arianespace has signed a contract to buy ten Vega rockets from Italian manufacturer ELV (European Launch Vehicle) for a total of between €260m (US$328m) and €300m (US$378m), depending on when they are delivered.
Arianespace will start to put the…
Arianespace has signed a contract to buy ten Vega rockets from Italian manufacturer ELV (European Launch Vehicle) for a total of between €260m (US$328m) and €300m (US$378m), depending on when they are delivered.
Arianespace will start to put the Vegas to use at the end of 2015 and has said that six of them have already been assigned to payloads, while talks are ongoing for the remaining four.
The French company has successfully launched a Vega in each of the past three years and claims it is now established as the best launch vehicle in the light-lift class.
Arianespace is bullish on the market for the launcher, which it described as “perfectly suited” to loft small scientific and Earth observation satellites into low or Sun-synchronous orbit. It plans to launch three Vega missions per year to serve public and private clients.
In an interview with SatelliteFinance in July, Arianespace’s chairman and CEO, Stéphane Israël, said that Vega had encountered great success in the expanding market of small (around one ton or less) Earth observation satellites, which represent 80% of its current order book.
The launch services provider foresees more and more governments in emerging countries willing to rely on their own satellite solutions for environmental monitoring or disaster management.
In a statement this week Israël said: “These launchers will meet the needs of our customers, both institutional and commercial on the small satellites segment, especially the one dedicated to Earth observation.”
The framework for the order was first agreed upon in November 2013 at the 31st French-Italian summit in Rome.
ELV, based in Colleferro just outside Rome, is a public-private joint venture – owned by aerospace company Avio (70%) and the Italian space agency (30%). It was formed in 2000 to develop and construct the Vega, which was first launched by Arianespace in February 2012.
