ESA MINISTERIAL COUNCIL BROADENS EUROPEAN SPACE LAUNCHERS PROSPECTS 

NEW P120C SOLID ROCKET MOTOR: FIRST BOOSTER CASE SUCCESSFULLY TESTED

At the eve of the International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget (Paris, France), the operational tests for the first P120C casing were successfully completed at the Avio facility in Colleferro. The P120C is the largest monolithic carbon-fibre   solid propellant motor in the world, designed to equip on the new Vega C and Ariane 6 launchers, set for their first launch in 2019 and 2020.

Arianespace and AVIO/ELV are organizing the second VEGA Users’ Day on July 7 and 8, 2016 in Rome. Stéphane Israël, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Arianespace, Giulio Ranzo, CEO of AVIO, and Pierluigi Pirrelli, CEO of ELV, will be hosting a meeting with all customers and partners on Europe’s light launch vehicle to review its operations and performance in the commercial and government markets. The other aim of this meeting is to lay solid foundations for the future, with the advent of the upgraded VEGA-C launcher.

The Director General of the ESA (European Space Agency), Jan Wörner, paid a visit to AVIO, together with Roberto Battiston, President of the ASI (Italian Space Agency). The guests were greeted by the CEO of AVIO, Giulio Ranzo.
The ESA delegation also included Gaele Winters, Director of Launchers, and Stefano Bianchi, Head of Launchers Development.