ESA Evaluating Ariane 5 Procurement Reforms, Surveying Members on Launch Needs

摘要

The European Space Agency (ESA) has received industry proposals for reforming the way ESA contracts for work as part of the Ariane 5 heavy-lift rocket program to assure that ESA is not paying more than necessary, ESA Launcher Director Antonio Fabrizi said Jan. 13. In an interview, Fabrizi said the Procurement Process Review that began in 2011 is expected to be finished by mid-2012, in time for incorporation into a broader package of Ariane-related funding ESA will ask of its government ministers when they meet in November. On a parallel track, the agency has begun canvassing European civil government, military and commercial satellite owners to assess what kind of launch service meets their expected requirements for a decade from now.