Will Germany support France on Ariane, torpedo for Vega?
Berlin is getting closer to Paris in the aerospace and defense sector. According to Bloomberg, Germany is ready to support the launch plan of Ariane 7, the future heavy launcher built in France by the giant ArianeGroup. Marginalized Italy with Vega? Facts and insights
Germany reaches out to France: Berlin is ready to support the development of a new generation of Ariane space launchers.
The German government will contribute to the future projects of ArianeGroup, the company controlled equally by the Franco-German giant Airbus and the French company Safran, on condition that these programs are open to the technology of European startups. This was revealed by Bloomberg, citing sources close to the dossier.
Specifically, Germany plans to support the next-generation Ariane 7 launcher, one of the sources specified.
An announcement of a future Ariane 7 would be good news for industrial relations between France and Germany, which have been tense in recent months, comments Bloomberg .
Additionally, the emergence of SpaceX has increased competition for Ariane. The reusable aircraft of Elon Musk's US company has a cost advantage over European launchers (Ariane and Vega).
And just last October, in an interview with Politico , André-Hubert Roussel, CEO of the Ariane Group, said he expects member ministers of the European Space Agency (ESA) to back plans for the development of Ariane 7 at the next Ministerial Council in Paris to be held on 22 and 23 November. Ariane 7 would include reusable technology and could also enable human spaceflight.
Last year Paris announced the Maia program, a small reusable pitcher designed by ArianeGroup. The Franco-German giant also presented Susie , a project for a completely reusable upper stage of the launcher, which can carry cargo but also human beings.
All the details.
PUSH ON ARIANE
ESA has announced the launch of Ariane 6 next year, in the last quarter of 2023.
The long-delayed Ariane 6 system is finally slated to launch in the fourth quarter of 2023, and Roussel said that while it won't include cost-cutting technology like SpaceX, a launch every two weeks may eventually be feasible, too. if only up to 12 in a full calendar year.
“Ariane 6 is Europe's guarantee of autonomous access to space,” Roussel told Politico , confirming tentative plans to carry out a maiden launch of the next-generation rocket by the end of next year, although the first launch large-scale commercialization will only happen in 2024.
Meanwhile, according to Bloomberg sources, Germany is ready to support AiraneGroup with the new generation of the Ariane 7 launcher.
IS BERLIN CLOSING TO PARIS?
A sign therefore of a rapprochement in industrial relations between Berlin and Paris.
In fact, in recent months, Paris and Berlin have clashed on multiple issues, from air defense systems to gas pipelines, up to solutions on how to deal with the energy crisis. In particular, tensions over defense projects have spilled over into the space sector, with Berlin emphasizing the need for private companies to build their own launchers to bolster competition in the sector as demand for satellites proliferates. Paris has instead been pushing for a common EU solution, according to Bloomberg .
Recent tensions between France and Germany came into the open in October when Paris and Berlin postponed a joint meeting of the two governments. In another sign that the relationship may be improving, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne is due to travel to Berlin on Friday after a scheduled visit in September was cancelled.
THE FCAS AGREEMENT
And an even stronger signal the countries have finally agreed on the FCAS, the Franco-German-Spanish program for the sixth generation fighter to replace the French Rafale and the German and Spanish Eurofighters. The German defense ministry also announced on Friday that it had reached an "industry agreement" on the next phase of the FCAS.
The two countries and two of the main companies involved, Airbus and Dassault Aviation, have formally agreed to move to a crucial phase of the FCAS project during which a demonstration jet will be built. For this next phase, called "1b", the deadline was set for the end of last year. But the talks stalled over disagreements over the sharing of intellectual property between the companies, how the work would be divided up and the specifics of the jet.
Meanwhile this morning Eric Trappier, head of the French company Dassault Aviation, warned that an agreement on the development of the new FCAS fighter has not yet been formally completed.
IT'S ITALY?
If Paris and Berlin get closer in the field of defense and aerospace, especially in the latter sector, Italy could be penalized.
As Il Sole 24 Ore explained last week, “France, through Arianspace, has an exclusive right to commercialize Vega [ESA's light launcher built in Italy by Avio], but with ArianeGroup (which controls Arianespace) it has launched the Maia project which can place itself in direct competition.
And according to what was revealed by the French newspaper La Tribune, in a letter addressed to ESA the Draghi government had asked to take Vega out of the orbit of Arianespace. For La Tribune , the Italian player seems to fear the rise of Germany in pitching. Mini-launcher programs that are just one step towards very fast competition with Vega C in the segment of the lightest satellites.
In fact, last year Paris displaced the Draghi government by announcing the development of the aforementioned Maia project. In addition to the reusable rockets of the American SpaceX, there will also be the European ones Maia but in this project France aims to go it alone. It's Italy? Certainly more will be known about the Italian strategy when at the upcoming ESA ministerial conference. For Italy, the delegation is led by the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy with responsibility for Space Adolfo Urso with the president of the Italian Space Agency Giorgio Saccoccia.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/germania-francia-ariane-7-spazio/ on Mon, 21 Nov 2022 14:05:35 +0000.