Italy's Vega-C rocket to return to space on Dec. 3, Avio CEO says
Adds details, quotes from Avio CEO, details on Vega-E and background on launchers
By Giulia Segreti
MILAN, Oct 14 (Reuters) -Italy's Vega-C rocket will return to space on Dec. 3, almost two years after it failed a mission in 2022, the CEO of its manufacturer Avio AVI.MI said on Monday.
"Vega-C will be back on Dec. 3. Not only have we made the required changes, but we recently carried out two expensive ground tests to make sure it works," CEO Giulio Ranzo told Reuters.
The launch would be part of the European Union's Copernicus earth observation satellite programme.
In December 2022 the Vega rockets were grounded after the latest model failed on its second mission, destroying two Earth-imaging satellites.
Europe is facing a gap in access to space following the delays of Vega-C and a heavyweight launcher built by Airbus AIR.PA-Safran SAF.PA joint venture ArianeGroup, and the loss of access to Russia's Soyuz programme due to the war in Ukraine.
The conflict also affected Vega-C, as Avio had to replace one of its components after a Ukrainian supplier's plant was bombarded, with a slightly different one from a French company.
Avio is the prime contractor and manufacturer of the Vega-C launcher, which was previously commercialised by ArianeGroup subsidiary Arianespace. A decision that allowed Vega-C to be operated independently was "fundamental" for Avio, Ranzo said.
"(The previous situation) was an anomaly, not only was it absurd, it was not functional," he said, adding that this change would allow the group to improve the launcher.
"Before, we were wasting time and losing money," Ranzo added.
Problems with Vega-C will delay the schedule for another launcher, Vega-E, Ranzo said. Despite its testing being "at an advanced stage", the first launch is now expected between end-2027 and 2028 and not in 2026 as previously forecast, he said.
"Little has changed. The coming years are full of launches, and we are well-equipped for the future," he added. There will be four launches next year and the order portfolio is "very full, with launches until end-2028", he said.
Reporting by Giulia Segreti, editing by Gianluca Semeraro and Jan Harvey
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
