Jay Clemens
Airbus Group and Safran have inked a memorandum of understanding to develop new space launchers for commercial and government customers through a 50-50 joint venture.
Safran will combine its propulsion technologies with Airbus’ launcher systems under the joint venture, Airbus said Monday.
The agreement builds on an industrial initiative led by the European Space Agency and the French Space Agency CNES that proposes to develop the Ariane 5 ME and Ariane 6 launchers.
“The Ariane programme has been hugely successful during the last 30 years, but in order to remain relevant and competitive for the future we need a much more efficient industrial structure,†said Tom Enders, CEO of Airbus Group.
“Our agreement with Safran is the starting point of an exciting journey towards a more integrated, more efficient and hence more profitable launcher business in Europe,” added Enders.
Both Airbus and Safran will consolidate their civil program contracts and launcher activity participation under first phase of the agreement.
