1st contract for Vega C rocket launcher still being built

(ANSA) - Rome, June 22 - The first contract has been signed for Vega C, a future launcher of the European Space Agency (ESA) currently being built in Italy by Avio.
    The first launch is expected to take place in 2019. The contract is for two launches scheduled for 2020 and was signed on Wednesday as part of the International Paris Air Show Le Bourgetin by the company managing the launches with the European rockets, Arianespace, and Airbus Defence and Space.
    Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo expressed his satisfaction, noting "two more commercial contracts for a launcher that is still being built and that last week completed the first functional test of the first engine casing." Airbus Defence and Space is the first commercial client of Vega C, the advanced version of the Vega rocket launcher, and will be equipped with a lighter and more efficient engine that traditional ones. Arianespace general director Stephane Israel expressed "full confidence in the ability of the launcher built in Italy, who said that he was "proud of having finalized this first contract for the future Vega C launcher".