News: Airbus Defense and Space
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
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- Galileo to take its first flight on Ariane 6 on 17 December ESA · 20 Nov 2025 On 17 December 2025, two Galileo satellites will be launched by Arianespace on Ariane 6 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. This 14th operational launch in the Galileo programme will improve the precision, availabi...
- ArianeGroup–Avio Deal Outlines Extended Transition of Turbopump Manufacturing to France European Spaceflight · 18 Nov 2025 A new agreement between ArianeGroup and Avio has renewed questions about when the production of Ariane 6 turbopumps will be transferred from Italy to France. The transfer was intended to offset Vernon losing the responsi...
- Arianespace Aiming for As Many as Eight Ariane 6 Launches in 2026 European Spaceflight · 6 Nov 2025 Arianespace is aiming to double its Ariane 6 launch cadence in 2026, with between six and eight missions planned. The European launch provider will open its 2026 manifest with the first flight of the more powerful four-b...
- Arianespace Launches Sentinel-1D Aboard Ariane 6 Rocket European Spaceflight · 4 Nov 2025 European launch services provider Arianespace has successfully launched the Sentinel-1D Earth observation satellite aboard an Ariane 62 rocket for the European Commission. Launched in its two-booster configuration, the A...
- Ariane 6 poised to launch the Sentinel-1D Earth observation satellite NASASpaceflight · 4 Nov 2025 Arianespace, Europe’s long-standing primary launch provider, is preparing to fly the Sentinel-1D Earth observation satellite…
- ArianeGroup to Transfer Responsibility for Vinci Assembly to German Subsidiary European Spaceflight · 27 Oct 2025 ArianeGroup will transfer responsibility for the assembly of Ariane 6 Vinci upper-stage engines from Vernon, France, to Lampoldshausen, Germany. The agreement, signed on 24 October, will also see the transfer of responsi...
- ArianeGroup Awards €1.5M Contract to Réaltra for Ariane 6 Video Telemetry European Spaceflight · 23 Oct 2025 Irish space electronics company Réaltra Space Systems Engineering has been awarded a €1.5 million contract by ArianeGroup to supply seven Independent Video Kits (VIKIs) that will provide live onboard video telemetry duri...
- Arianespace Pushes First Ariane 64 Flight Back to 2026 European Spaceflight · 19 Oct 2025 Arianespace has confirmed that the first flight of the more powerful, four-booster variant of the Ariane 6 rocket will not be launched until 2026. The first Ariane 64 rocket had been expected to launch in late 2025, carr...
- First Ariane 64 launch slips to 2026 SpaceNews · 17 Oct 2025 Arianespace has confirmed that the first flight of the more powerful version of the Ariane 6 rocket has been delayed until next year.
- ArianeGroup CEO Poached by French Train Maker European Spaceflight · 9 Oct 2025 Current ArianeGroup CEO Martin Sion has been named the new head of French train maker Alstom. He will officially take up the role in April 2026. Martin Sion assumed the role after André-Hubert Roussel stepped down in lat...
- Sabca Secures €85 Million Ariane 6 Operational Phase Contract European Spaceflight · 8 Oct 2025 ArianeGroup has awarded an €85 million contract to Belgian aerospace and defence company Sabca for the production of Thrust Vector Control (TVC) systems for 27 Ariane 6 rockets. Sabca and ArianeGroup signed an initial co...
- MaiaSpace Received €180M in Advance Payments in 2024 European Spaceflight · 3 Oct 2025 According to public filings submitted in July, MaiaSpace reported €180 million in advance payments in 2024, alongside a €45 million equity injection from its parent company ArianeGroup. Founded in 2021 as a wholly owned...
- ArianeGroup Awards Contract for Components of 27 Ariane 6 Rockets European Spaceflight · 27 Sep 2025 ArianeGroup has contracted MT Aerospace to deliver key components for 27 Ariane 6 rockets, covering flights 16 through 42. Germany’s MT Aerospace is one of the Ariane 6 programme’s largest contractors, providing around 1...
- Ariane 6 Selected to Launch German Military Communications Satellites European Spaceflight · 25 Sep 2025 Airbus Defence and Space has awarded Arianespace a contract to launch a pair of SATCOMBw-3 communications satellites for the German Armed Forces. In July 2024, the German Armed Forces awarded Airbus Defence and Space a €...
- ArianeGroup Completes Themis Integration Ahead of Combined Tests European Spaceflight · 19 Sep 2025 ArianeGroup has announced that the first Themis reusable rocket demonstrator has been fully integrated and is on its own four legs on a launch pad in Sweden. The demonstrator will now be put through a combined test campa...
- Arianespace examines options to increase Ariane 6 launch rate SpaceNews · 18 Sep 2025 Arianespace is weighing options to increase the launch rate of the Ariane 6 rocket beyond 10 per year if government and commercial demand supports it.
- MaiaSpace Completes Burst Test Campaign and Begins Orbital Vehicle Development European Spaceflight · 28 Aug 2025 French rocket builder and ArianeGroup subsidiary MaiaSpace has announced the completion of a months-long test campaign that subjected several subscale prototypes of its propellant tanks to high-pressure burst tests. In a...
- France Grants Avio 10-Year Licence to Launch from Guiana Space Centre European Spaceflight · 21 Aug 2025 The French government has granted Italian launch services provider Avio a ten-year licence to carry out Vega rocket operations from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. During the 2023 Space Summit in Seville, Europ...
- ArianeGroup Receives Heat Shield Mock-Up for ExoMars Mission European Spaceflight · 2 Aug 2025 French tooling manufacturer Loiretech has delivered a mock-up of the ExoMars heat shield to ArianeGroup’s facilities in Saint-Médard-en-Jalles. In April 2024, the European Space Agency awarded a €522 million contract to...
- ArianeGroup Completes Key Prometheus Rocket Engine Tests European Spaceflight · 2 Jul 2025 European rocket builder ArianeGroup has announced that it completed a series of Prometheus rocket engine test ignitions on 20 June, marking a key milestone in the programme. Developed under a European Space Agency contra...
- Themis Demonstrator Completes 3,000 km Journey to Launch Site European Spaceflight · 30 Jun 2025 The ArianeGroup-built Themis reusable booster demonstrator has arrived at the Esrange Space Centre in Sweden, following a journey of over 3,000 kilometres by road from Les Mureaux, France. Developed under a European Spac...
- Increase in Ariane 6 launch cadence could take several years SpaceNews · 23 Jun 2025 While Arianespace is committed to moving to its peak launch rate of the Ariane 6 “as soon as possible,” it may take several years to do so.
- Arianespace and Avio Call for Enforced European Launcher Preference European Spaceflight · 18 Jun 2025 In a joint statement published on 16 June, Arianespace and Avio have called for European missions to be launched aboard European rockets. The statement was presented on the first day of the Paris Air Show, being held in...
- CNES Taps ArianeGroup to Lead Reusable Rocket Engine Project European Spaceflight · 17 Jun 2025 The French space agency CNES announced that it had selected ArianeGroup to lead a project to develop a high-thrust reusable rocket engine. On 17 June, the agency announced the launch of its ASTRE (Advanced Staged-Combust...
- ArianeGroup Completes Hot-Fire Tests of 3D-Printed Thruster European Spaceflight · 23 May 2025 ArianeGroup has successfully completed a series of hot-fire tests of a 3D-printed, flight-configured 240N hydrogen peroxide thruster. In a 22 May update on LinkedIn, ArianeGroup senior orbital propulsion engineer Ulrich...
- Launch Roundup: Starlink missions fill launch manifest, Biomass and Alpha launch NASASpaceflight · 29 Apr 2025 This week’s schedule includes up to six Starlink launches from Florida and California. Arianespace launched…
- ESA’s Biomass mission to launch aboard Vega-C NASASpaceflight · 28 Apr 2025 The European Space Agency’s seventh Earth Explorer mission, Biomass, will launch Tuesday aboard an Arianespace…
- MaiaSpace Selects Łukasiewicz–ILOT to Develop Kick-Stage Engine European Spaceflight · 25 Apr 2025 French launch startup MaiaSpace has selected the Łukasiewicz Research Network’s Institute of Aviation to develop the engine that will power its Colibri kick stage. Founded in 2021 as a wholly owned subsidiary of ArianeGr...
- Ariane 6 Booster Upgrade Test Set for 24 April European Spaceflight · 23 Apr 2025 The French space agency CNES has announced that the first test firing of the P160C solid-fuel booster is scheduled to take place on 24 April at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. The booster will be used on the Ar...
- Europe pursues ‘strategic autonomy’ amidst geopolitical shifts SpaceNews · 7 Apr 2025 As Arianespace wrapped up the webcast of the March 6 launch of the CSO-3 French reconnaissance satellite on an Ariane 6 rocket, the broadcast aired a recorded message from Philippe […]
- Where SkyHopper Fits into ArianeGroup’s Reusability Efforts European Spaceflight · 7 Apr 2025 While ArianeGroup pushes ahead with the development of the delayed Themis reusable booster demonstrator, the company is also quietly advancing an initiative known as SkyHopper, which aims to enable the recovery and reuse...
- MaiaSpace signs first commercial launch contract SpaceNews · 24 Mar 2025 MaiaSpace, a small launch vehicle developer spun out of ArianeGroup, has signed its first commercial launch contract for missions launching as soon as 2027.
- Pangea Aerospace Raises €23M in Series A Funding European Spaceflight · 18 Mar 2025 Spanish rocket propulsion company Pangea Aerospace has raised €23 million in Series A funding, with contributions from former ArianeGroup CEO André-Hubert Roussel. Founded in 2018, Pangea Aerospace initially aimed to dev...
- Arianespace sees stronger institutional demand for Ariane 6 amid shifting geopolitics SpaceNews · 11 Mar 2025 The successful second flight of Europe’s Ariane 6 has become an opportunity for European officials to highlight the need for “strategic autonomy” in space.
- Ariane 6 Successfully Delivers French Spy Satellite to Orbit European Spaceflight · 6 Mar 2025 Arianespace has successfully launched the CSO-3 reconnaissance satellite for the French Armed Forces aboard an Ariane 6 rocket. This marks the rocket’s first commercial mission following its mostly successful inaugural t...
- Ariane 6 takes flight for the second time ESA · 6 Mar 2025 Europe’s newest rocket, Ariane 6, took flight for the second time from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 13:24 local time on 6 March (16:24 GMT, 17:24 CET). This was the first commercial flight for Ariane 6, flight...
- Ariane 6 takes flight for the second time ESA · 6 Mar 2025 Europe’s newest rocket, Ariane 6, took flight for the second time from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 13:24 local time on 6 March (16:24 GMT, 17:24 CET). This was the first commercial flight for Ariane 6, flight...
- Live coverage: Arianespace to launch an Ariane 6 rocket on its 1st commercial mission Spaceflight Now · 3 Mar 2025 The launch will be managed by Arianespace and will carry the third satellite for the Optical Space Component (CSO– Composante Spatiale Optique) program. Liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana is set for 1:24 p....
- Arianespace plans five Ariane 6 launches in 2025, primarily in the second half of the year SpaceNews · 11 Feb 2025 As Arianespace prepares for its first commercial Ariane 6 launch, it is projecting a manifest for the vehicle backloaded to the second half of the year.
- Arianespace Secures Three Ariane 6 Launch Deals in Two Days European Spaceflight · 30 Jan 2025 During the 17th European Space Conference, held in Brussels on 28 and 29 January, Arianespace was awarded contracts to launch PLATO, Sentinel-1D, and a pair of second-generation Galileo satellites. Arianespace currently...