France, Germany, and Italy Reach Accord on Delayed Ariane 6 Launch, Public Aid and Cost Cuts Secured

Agreement facilitates 42 future launches of the troubled Ariane 6, provides up to €340 million in aid, and mandates 11% cost reductions; Italy's Vega-C also to receive financial boost in effort to restore European space autonomy.

France, Germany, and Italy have signed a new agreement sanctioning future launches of the Ariane 6 and the Vega-C rockets, aiming to solve the long-standing technical and budgetary issues facing the European space launch industry.
The Ariane 6, a heavyweight launcher built by Airbus-Safran joint-venture ArianeGroup, has faced multiple technical glitches and is four years behind its original launch plan, with its first test launch now anticipated for 2024.
The agreement calls for up to €340 million in public aid for Ariane 6 to manage soaring costs and request a reduction of the industry's costs by 11%.
Alongside Ariane 6, the Italian Vega-C rocket, which has been grounded since late 2021 after a failed launch, will receive up to €21 million in public support, with the agreement opening the possibility for Vega-C to be operated independently by Italian manufacturer Avio.
The breakthrough deal was signed during a European Space Agency (ESA) ministerial meeting in Seville, Spain and aims to restore European autonomy in space access, threatened by the delays of Ariane 6 and Vega-C and the end of western European access to Russia's Soyuz program due to the war in Ukraine.