This week, the French government is expected to announce that it will commit to purchasing the first flights aboard the rockets of four of the country’s launch startups.
According to reporting from French news outlet Les Echos, the announcement will be made by President Emmanuel Macron this week during his visit to the Guiana Space Centre to see the progress towards the maiden flight of Ariane 6.
The four launch startups that will receive a combined €400 million in subsidies are HyPrSpace, Latitude, Sirius Space Services, and the ArianeGroup subsidiary MaiaSpace.
The HyPrSpace OB-1 and Latitude Zephyr rockets will be the smallest of the lot and will be capable of delivering between 100 and 200 kilograms to low Earth orbit. The Sirius 1, Sirius 13, and Sirius 15 rockets will be capable of delivering between 175 and 1,100 kilograms to orbit. The Prometheus-powered Maia rocket is expected to be the most powerful, with a payload capacity of up to three tonnes when launched in its expendable configuration.
The agreement with the French state will see each company receive a small upfront payment to secure the flights. The bulk of the €400 million, which will be supplied through the France 2030 initiative, will, however, only be awarded if the companies manage to launch a maiden flight of their respective vehicles between 2026 and 2028. As a result, the actual development process will need to be funded through other public programmes or through private investment.
While the official announcement from President Macron has not yet been made, Latitude has already confirmed the Les Echos report, stating that CNES and the French government will be “the first official customers of Zephyr.”
