Colleferro (Rome), March 6th 2025 – The Ariane 6 launcher has successfully completed the VA263 flight from the Guiana Space Centre, putting in orbit the CSO-3 satellite for the French Armed Forces.
Avio will be involved on the production of the P120C+ boosters, an upgraded version of the P120C
The Vinci liquid oxygen turbopump has a lower flow rate and outlet pressure than the Vulcain 2. Avio developed and tested numerous key technologies for the unit, including a new, more compact type of Dynamic Seal Package (DSP) which acts as the physical separation between the hot gasses that feed the turbine (+600°C) and the liquid oxygen on the pump side (-180°C).
Turbopumps are one of the main components in liquid propellant engines for aerospace use. These machines offer extreme performance, as they are designed to feed the combustion chamber with propellants drawn from tanks that are pressurized to hundreds of bars.
New purchase of 4 Ariane 6.2 launches by the European Commission for the Galileo navigation constellation, on top of the 2 already booked in 2017. These satellites will be placed in Medium Earth Orbit starting in 2022. Avio manufactures the 2 P120 side boosters of the Ariane 6 rocket in the 6.2 configuration.
https://spacenews.com/eu-reserves-four-ariane-6-rockets-for-galileo-navigation-satellites/
The carbon fiber motor, produced in Italy by Avio, will be used for the new European launchers Ariane 6 and Vega C
Kourou, 16 July 2018
• A successful test firing of 135 seconds conducted on the BEAP test bench in Kourou, French Guiana
• P120C – the largest monolithic carbon-fiber solid rocket motor (SRM) in the world – is loaded with 142 tons of propellant
• P120C will equip the boosters of both Ariane 62 and Ariane 64 and the Vega-C first stage ; 35 motors to be produced annually
18 September 2017 – Regulus, an Avio/ArianeGroup joint venture, has completed the loading with inert propellant of the first Booster Case of the new P120C Solid Rocket Motor in French Guyana. Regulus is in charge of solid propellant manufacturing and casting for Vega and Ariane Launch Vehicles.
About 142 Tons of inert propellant have been produced and cast in the Booster Case, that was shipped this summer from Avio premises in Italy, to demonstrate and validate new manufacturing equipment, machines and process.
NEW P120C SOLID ROCKET MOTOR: FIRST BOOSTER CASE SUCCESSFULLY TESTED
At the eve of the International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget (Paris, France), the operational tests for the first P120C casing were successfully completed at the Avio facility in Colleferro. The P120C is the largest monolithic carbon-fibre solid propellant motor in the world, designed to equip on the new Vega C and Ariane 6 launchers, set for their first launch in 2019 and 2020.