France, Russia Sign Launch Technology Deal

摘要

The French and Russian space agencies have signed a five-year cooperation agreement on future-launcher technologies, including flight demonstrators, in which France will invest 200 million euros ($266 million). For French officials, the program ultimately should lead to a merging of rocket-development ef- forts in Europe and Russia as part of a commercial-market rationalization. Europe's Ariane 5 rocket now competes with Russia's Pro-ton-M vehicle and with the Russian-Ukrainian Sea Launch rocket, both of which are marketed by U.S. companies.