Germany invests in French Ariane 7 rocket to compete with SpaceX

Germany and France intend to impose competition on the American company SpaceX in the field of launch vehicles.

What is known

The French company ArianeGroup, which isjoint venture between Safran SA and Airbus SE, may receive funding from Germany. Berlin cut out the intention to invest in the development of the Ariane 7 launch vehicle, Bloomberg reports, citing anonymous sources. The German and French authorities declined to comment.

ArianeGroup is an important project forEuropean Union, despite the fact that the rockets of the French company are inferior to SpaceX solutions in terms of economic efficiency, since they are disposable. The EU is trying to ensure the sovereignty of the space industry and wants to independently carry out space missions.

Cooperation between France and Germany couldwould play into the hands of the industry of both countries, because Recently, contradictions have appeared between them in the defense sector. In particular, France is in favor of the idea of ​​a common European program, while Germany wants to attract more private companies in this area in order to increase competition.

As for ArianeGroup, now she has inits range of Ariane 5 rockets, which it calls the most reliable commercial launch vehicle on the market. The company is also working on Ariane 6, but for various reasons, its launch has been repeatedly postponed. At the moment, the launch of the rocket is scheduled for the end of next year.