Vega-C failure destroys two Airbus satellites, insured for $210M, and adds pressure on Europe’s stressed launcher sector

by Peter B. de Selding

LA PLATA, Maryland — The Dec. 20 failure of Europe’s Vega-C rocket on its first commercial mission destroyed two Airbus Defence and Space Pleiades Neo high-resolution optical imaging satellites, insured for 200 million euros ($210 million), derailing Airbus’s geospatial imaging expansion plans and putting a hold on what was to be Vega-C’s breakout year in the small- to medium-lift launch market.

The failure will put pressure on the European Commission and the 22-nation European Space Agency (ESA) to . . .

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