Italian launchers 'open' Le Bourget space salon

(ANSA) - Paris, June 15 - Italian spacecraft launchers were the de fact show openers at the International Space and Aeronautics Salon at Le Bourget near Paris on Monday.
    Le Bourget salon is the oldest and largest of its kind, and the Advanced Generation European Carrier Rocket, or Vega - made by Colleferro-based manufacturer Avio - is the most innovative and forward-looking family of small orbital launchers in use by the European Space Agency (ESA).
    Avio debuted Monday with a new look and a new logo, its A intersected by an arch suggesting both an orbit's trajectory and a planet's profile.
    "Beginning today, Avio is identifying with aerospace engineering on a visual level," said Chairman and CEO Pier Giuliano Lasagni.
    Avio (which stands for Advanced Vision Into Orbit) is 81% held by European private equity firm Cinven, 14% by Italy's defence and aerospace giant Finmeccanica, and 5% by other investors.
    Avio's Vega C launcher has been approved by the ESA and is set to go into orbit in 2018, while its P120 engine at the base of the future Ariane 6 launcher is slated to go into space in 2020.