Two agreements signed marking a new step in the exploitation of Ariane 6 and Vega-C

Last Friday, two Launchers Exploitation Agreements (LEA) were signed at the headquarters of the European Space Agency (ESA) in Paris, representing an important step in ensuring the continuity of Ariane 6 and Vega-C operations. Present at the signing were Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General; Giulio Ranzo, CEO of Avio; David Cavaillolès, CEO of Arianespace; and Martin Sion, CEO of ArianeGroup.

Following the decisions adopted by the ESA Council in 2023, the review of the Launchers Exploitation Declaration (LED) was completed on 10 July 2025, and the Guiana Space Centre Agreement was signed on 23 October 2025. The Launchers Exploitation Agreements now signed translate the mandate of the LED to ESA into concrete and detailed implementation agreements between ESA and the launch operators.

The two agreements signed—one with Arianespace and ArianeGroup for Ariane 6, and the other with Avio for Vega-C—define the roles and responsibilities of each operator and ESA’s role in overseeing their implementation. They also establish the framework for cooperation between the parties to ensure Europe’s autonomous and continuous access to space through the use of ESA-developed launchers from the European Spaceport in French Guiana.