Airbus Group and Safran are further strengthening their relationship to propose a new family of competitive, versatile and efficient space launchers, to serve both commercial and institutional needs.

In this context, both companies have agreed to create a 50-50 joint venture, with a key role for each shareholder in their legacy activities especially in France and Germany, combining expertise in the launcher systems from Airbus Group as well as propulsion systems from Safran.

The initiative capitalises on the preparatory activities undertaken during the last two years under the leadership of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the French Space Agency CNES, in line with the guidelines set by the ESA ministerial conference in November 2012.