Government ministers from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) member states have approved funding to build the Ariane 6 rocket. In a press conference Etienne Schneider, Luxembourg’s representative on the ministerial council, said that €4bn had been…
Government ministers from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) member states have approved funding to build the Ariane 6 rocket.
In a press conference Etienne Schneider, Luxembourg’s representative on the ministerial council, said that €4bn had been committed by ESA’s 20 member states to fund Ariane 6 over the next 10 years.
Following the decision on 2 December, Airbus Defence and Space and rocket engine-maker Safran announced the creation of Airbus Safran Launchers; a plan they first laid out in June.
The joint venture will pool the two companies’ space launcher activities to cut costs and will develop the Ariane 6, which is expected to be operational by 2020.
Ariane 6 is designed to be cheaper to help the European space industry better compete with the pricing model of US-based SpaceX.
Airbus Safran Launchers will also become majority owner of Paris-based satellite launch provider Arianespace.
In a joint statement Airbus and Safran said: “The industry proposal naturally assumes an in-principle agreement for the transfer to the JV of shares in Arianespace held by the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), France’s space agency.”
CNES holds 34.68 % of Arianespace while Safran owns 10.57% of its equity and Airbus owns 30.48% assumed through EADS and Astrium units, according to Arianespace’s last updated figures from 2011.
The JV won regulatory approval from the European Commission at the end of November, on the condition that Safran leaves out its electric satellite thrusters from the venture.
The EU’s antitrust regulator also required the two European aerospace and defence giants to guarantee the supply of certain components to third parties on transparent terms.
That decision did not take into account the companies increasing their position in Arianespace.
Prior to the ministers’ ESA meeting there had been disagreement between France and Germany over whether the Ariane 6 should be developed or whether they should instead pursue an upgrade of the Ariane 5, Ariane 5 ME (Mid-life Evolution), which had been in the works for some time.
