France, Germany and Italy will sponsor SpaceX’s competitor – Kommersant
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France, Germany and Italy have signed an agreement with the French company Arianespace to sponsor the Ariane 6 rocket worth €340 million in exchange for an 11% discount on the purchase of the rocket, reports Bloomberg.
The agency notes that the three European countries entered into this agreement to catch up with competitors from China and Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The terms of the deal also include at least four rocket launch orders from government agencies for Ariane 6 and at least three for the lighter Vega C rocket, the agency reports.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire noted in a telephone briefing that Arianespace’s financial support is comparable to that received by SpaceX. The deal also included support for rocket development to increase the number of guaranteed Ariane 6 launches by 15 to 42 by 2030, Bloomberg reported.
Ariane 6 is a launch vehicle under development, designed to launch payloads into space. The launches are planned to take place from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. The cost of creating a rocket and a new launch complex is estimated at €4 billion. The first launch of Ariane 6 is planned for 2024
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