French rocket builder Latitude has been awarded €15 million by the French government to fund two development projects.
Latitude is developing a two-stage rocket called Zephyr that will be powered by the company’s in-house developed Navier engines. The rocket is designed to initially be capable of delivering payloads of up to 100 kilograms to low Earth orbit. However, the company is also working on an upgraded variant that will double the rocket’s payload capacity.
On 25 June, Latitude announced that it had received €15 million in funding from the French government for two development projects. The funding was awarded through the country’s France 2030 initiative, a €54 billion investment programme focused on transforming key sectors of the French economy through technological innovation.
The first project the funding will support is the internal production and industrialization of the turbopumps for Zephyr. It will also add funding to a project aimed at validating commercial-off-the-shelf components for use in space to optimize launch costs. This project had previously received funding through the France 2030 initiative in December 2023.
“The turbopump constitutes one of the critical elements of a rocket engine. Being able to develop and manufacture this part in-house is a key element of our industrial strategy,” Latitude CEO Stanislas Maximin explained in a statement. “The selection of Latitude within the framework of this call for projects goes beyond the sole question of financing, and responds to a real challenge of independence.”
In January, Latitude announced that it had closed its Series B funding round, raising $30 million. In March, the company was one of four companies selected to receive a share of €400 million in subsidies from the French government. This funding is, however, only fully unlocked when the company completes its inaugural flight of Zephyr.
Latitude aims to launch the first flight of Zephyr in 2025. The more powerful version of the rocket is expected to be introduced in 2028.
