Vega And Ariane 6 Woes Drive European Space Launch Crisis

Thierry Dubois January 30, 2023
vega c on launchpad

After a successful inaugural launch, the upgraded Vega C failed during its first commercial flight.

Credit: M. Pedoussaut/ESA
Europe learned about sovereign access to space the hard way. In 1974, the Symphonie-A telecommunications satellite, a Franco-German design, was placed into orbit by a U.S. launcher. The good news was the agreement with NASA; the not-so-good news was that it followed the failure of a program to build...
Thierry Dubois

Thierry Dubois has specialized in aerospace journalism since 1997. An engineer in fluid dynamics from Toulouse-based Enseeiht, he covers the French commercial aviation, defense and space industries. His expertise extends to all things technology in Europe. Thierry is also the editor-in-chief of Aviation Week’s ShowNews. 

Vega And Ariane 6 Woes Drive European Space Launch Crisis is part of our Aviation Week & Space Technology - Inside MRO and AWIN subscriptions.

Subscribe now to read this content, plus receive full coverage of what's next in technology from the experts trusted by the commercial aircraft MRO community.

Already a subscriber to AWST or an AWIN customer? Log in with your existing email and password.

Subscribe    Log in