Stéphane  Israël, Chairman and CEO of Arianespace, and Pierluigi Pirrelli, Chief  Executive of ELV (European Launch Vehicle), signed an agreement today, during  the 31st French-Italian summit in Rome,  for Arianespace to order ten Vega launch vehicles from the Italian  manufacturer.

These ten  Vega rockets will be ready for launch starting at the end of 2015, and will  cover more than three years of operations. They follow the original Vega  launcher used for the qualification flight, and the five Vega launchers already  ordered in 2010 within the scope of the VERTA contract.

ESA, ELV and  Arianespace also signed an agreement defining the general framework for this  activity, and the sharing of risks and responsibilities during this initial  operational phase for the Vega launch system.

In addition  to the French and Italian ministers in charge of space, Geneviève Fioraso and  Mario Chiara Carrozza, respectively, the contract signing ceremony was attended  by French President François Hollande, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault,  and Enrico Letta, Chairman of the Italian Council of Ministers. The European  Space Agency (ESA) was represented by Antonio Fabrizi, Director of Launch  Vehicles.

Following the success of the first two Vega launches,  and four launch contracts already signed by Arianespace, this agreement really  kicks off the operational phase for the Vega launcher, which is now established  as the best launch vehicle in its class.   Vega is operated alongside the  Ariane 5 heavy launcher and the Soyuz medium launcher as part of the  Arianespace family of launchers at the Guiana  Space Center,  Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Vega is  perfectly suited to the launch of small scientific and Earth observation  satellites into low or Sun-synchronous orbit.

The Vega launch system was  developed through an ESA program financed by Italy,  France, Spain, Belgium,  the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden.

Arianespace is the launch  system operator during the operational phase, with responsibility for the  marketing and sale of launch services and as prime contractor for launch  operations.

ELV, S.p.A., based in Colleferro, Italy,  is the industrial prime contractor for the Vega launcher. ELV is owned by Avio  (70%) and the Italian space agency (30%).

Following the signature,  Arianespace Chairman and CEO Stéphane Israël said, “With these ten new  launchers, Arianespace and its partners are meeting the production and operational  ramp-up challenge for Vega, the newest member of our family. We are addressing  a growing demand for services by a light launcher, especially for Earth  observation. We are very proud of rising to this challenge, to support our  government and commercial customers. I would also like to pay tribute to the  excellence demonstrated by ELV, who has delivered a reliable launcher, and to  thank ESA for their full-fledged commitment to the success of Vega.”

Pierluigi  Pirrelli, Chief Executive of ELV, added, “I would like to thank everybody,  especially the young people, in Italy and throughout Europe, who contributed  their skills and their passion to making the development of this launcher such  an outstanding technical success, and who are today working with Arianespace to  guarantee the sustained operational success of the Vega launcher.”

Arianespace press release