Italian rocket builders Avio have asked the European Space Agency to allow it to split from Arianespace and independently market its Vega launch vehicles.
The request was first reported by La Tribune. The request, which is backed by the Italian government, will be on the agenda at the ESA Space Summit in Seville, Spain, on 6 and 7 November. Although the topic is expected to be discussed at the summit, it will likely only be the first step, with a decision on the split to follow at a later date.
This request is not all that surprising. Avio, with support from the Italian government, has been actively building its future launch business outside the confines of ESA and Arianespace.
In June 2022, Avio announced that it had received €340 million from the Italian government to develop a new methalox first stage engine and a demonstrator of a new partially reusable launch vehicle.
During an interview in July 2023, Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo told Wired that the reusable demonstrator would be a prelude to an entirely new product line for the company.
In July 2022, the French Space Agency CNES announced that it had pre-selected Avio, along with six other launch companies, to utilize a new commercial launch facility being built on the grounds of the old Diamant launch complex at the Guiana Space Centre. At the time, it was largely unclear what the company planned to use the facility for, considering that it already had launch facilities for both Vega and Vega-C.
When the two announcements are examined together, Avio has positioned itself outside the control of ESA and Arianespace with a new launch facility and a new launch vehicle.
