Avio soars on the Stock Exchange after the Smile launch with Vega C.
The VV29 Vega-C launch carrying the Smile scientific satellite, acronym for Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer, took off this morning at 5:52 Italian time from the European spaceport of Kourou, in French Guiana. This satellite is the result of collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). It is an ambitious mission aimed at better understanding solar storms, geomagnetic storms, and space weather science.
Moreover, the launch also marks a historic milestone for European space transportation: for the first time, Avio directly managed all the launch activities and operations of the Vega C launcher, developed within ESA and funded by member states, with a predominant contribution from Italy.
The market rewarded the debut of the Colleferro-based company as Launch Service Operator of the Vega C program, a strategic breakthrough considered by analysts because it marks the first launch entirely managed by Avio on a commercial and operational level. The stock is the best performer on the main index, rising 6.3% to 31.89 euros, in a positive session also for Fincantieri and Leonardo, reports Radiocor.
All the details
SMILE SATELLITE SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED
After launch and separation from the launcher, the first signal from Smile was received by ESA’s ground station in New Norcia, Australia, at 06:48. The probe’s solar panels then deployed at 06:49, allowing Smile to collect sunlight to power its systems and scientific instruments. The completion of this operation marked the success of the launch.
The satellite was placed into a low Earth circular orbit at about 700 kilometers altitude, as the initial phase of a mission towards a highly inclined and elliptical orbit, with a perigee of 5,000 kilometers and an apogee of 121,000 kilometers. The flight lasted 57 minutes from liftoff to satellite separation.
THE OBJECTIVE OF THE SINO-EUROPEAN MISSION
The completion of the operation marked the full success of the VV29 mission and the official start of the Smile scientific mission.
The Smile probe will measure the solar wind and its dynamic interactions with Earth’s magnetosphere, aiming to improve understanding of the relationship between the Sun and Earth, geomagnetic storms, and space weather phenomena.
AVIO’S DEBUT AS DIRECT OPERATOR OF THE VEGA LAUNCHER
As already mentioned, the VV29 flight also represents, above all, a turning point for the European space transportation sector because, for the first time, Avio directly conducted all launch activities and operations of the European Vega C launcher.
Until now, the French company Arianespace exclusively managed launch operations from Kourou. The transfer of responsibility to the Colleferro company is therefore considered a paradigm shift for European access to space, destined to increase the continent’s industrial competitiveness in the launcher sector.
The new role obtained by the Italian group led by Giulio Ranzo is the result of a long negotiation with Italy’s European partners, particularly France and Germany, initiated during the ESA summit in Seville in 2023 and concluded with the finalization of the intergovernmental agreement on the Launcher Exploitation Declaration, coordinated by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) for the Italian side.
WORDS FROM MINISTER URSO
“This flight represents Avio’s official debut as a direct and autonomous operator for the commercial and technical management of Vega family launches, progressively replacing Arianespace: another success of Made in Italy, made possible by agreements with France at the ESA ministerial summit in Seville, also thanks to the support of the Italian Space Agency,” declared the Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy and Delegate Authority for Space and Aerospace Policies, Adolfo Urso. “A turning point that has made Avio more autonomous in its operational growth, while strengthening Italy’s industrial and technological capacity and contributing to consolidating European strategic autonomy in space access and major international scientific missions.”
ASI’S SATISFACTION
“Today’s launch marks an important milestone for the Italian space ecosystem, which confirms itself as a complete sector. In Europe, the success of Vega C paves the way for the presence, for the first time, of multiple entities in the role of Launch Service Provider and Launch Service Operator, using a launcher developed with ESA but manufactured in Italy. This allows our continent to establish solid governance in the challenging and fundamental sector of space access, a domain of absolute strategic importance for Europe and the nation. Italy, with Avio and its launcher, has thus opened a new path that will lead Europe to fly even more in space,” commented ASI President Teodoro Valente.
