Italy's Avio Scales Back Reusable Rocket Demonstrator Program After Technical Setbacks

At a glance

Italian rocket company Avio has reduced its plan to build two liquid-fuel demonstrator rockets, which were meant to test reusable rocket technology. Technical difficulties during development led to changes in the scope of the contract and its funding.

Key points

1. 1

   The original plan was to build a solid-fuel rocket and then a two-stage rocket, one after the other.

2. 2

   Avio agreed with the European Space Agency (ESA) to reduce the scope of work and cut part of the funding.

3. 3

   The company said more technical problems could arise before the work is complete.

4. 4

   Avio said the first demonstrator rocket is expected to finish ground testing by the end of this year.

Why it matters

Reusable rockets are an important technology for lowering the cost of space launches, so delays in this project could affect the schedule of Europe's space industry as a whole.