Credit: ArianeGroup
A new agreement between ArianeGroup and Avio has renewed questions about when the production of Ariane 6 turbopumps will be transferred from Italy to France. The transfer was intended to offset Vernon losing the responsibility for Vinci upper stage integration to Lampoldshausen in Germany, as agreed during the 2019 ESA Ministerial Council meeting in Seville.
The agreement, signed on 14 November, secures the stabilized exploitation phase of the Ariane 6 programme as ArianeGroup and Avio push forward toward the rocket’s full operational cadence. The agreement, which Avio says will be worth more than €200 million to the company, covers production of the next-generation P160C boosters and additional liquid-oxygen turbopumps for the Vulcain main engine up to 2029, the same turbopumps whose manufacturing is expected to be transferred to Vernon.
Just days before the agreement was announced, a written parliamentary question submitted on 11 November by Timothée Houssin, the French National Assembly member representing the constituency that includes the Vernon propulsion facility, noted that although the transfer of Ariane 6 Vinci engine integration from France to Germany is already underway, the corresponding relocation of Vulcain and Vinci turbopump production from Italy to Vernon has still not yet materialised. He cautioned that the delay could “pose a major risk” to France’s industrial and technological leadership in the development of cryogenic propulsion systems.
The new agreement and the confirmation that turbopump production will stay in Italy until at least 2029 raise questions about whether the previously agreed transfer is being delayed, restructured, or quietly deprioritised. Speaking to European Spaceflight, an ESA spokesperson stated that the agreement does not represent a shift in policy and that the transfer is “taking time.”
“The current arrangements simply reflect the organisation of the transition phase,” an ESA spokesperson told European Spaceflight. “This transition is taking time because it is essential to avoid any disruption to the production flow and to ensure continuity throughout the process.”
An Avio spokesperson stated that the turbopumps covered by the new contract represent the remaining production necessary to ensure a smooth transition and confirmed that the transfer programme is underway.
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