ArianeGroup agrees long-term partnership with Beyond Gravity
Zurich/Les Mureaux/Emmen - The ArianeGroup and Beyond Gravity from Zurich have concluded a long-term supply contract. The state-owned Swiss space company is set to supply a total of 27 payload fairings for the Franco-German space group’s Ariane 6 launch vehicle. This also safeguards production at the Emmen facility near Lucerne.
The ArianeGroup from Les Mureaux in France and Beyond Gravity have signed a long-term supply contract for the operational phase of Ariane 6, as detailed by the two companies in a joint statement. The space company, which is owned by the Swiss government, will accordingly supply the prime contractor for the European heavy-launcher with a total of 27 – including 20 long (20 meters) and 7 short (14 meters) – payload fairings for Ariane 6 flight models 16 to 42. Depending on the mission, the Ariane 6 will be equipped with either a short or a long payload fairing.
Beyond Gravity has manufactured the payload fairings for every Ariane mission since the first flight of Ariane 1 in 1979. “We are thrilled to continue our fruitful collaboration with Beyond Gravity”, as Christophe Bruneau, CEO of ArianeGroup, explains in the statement, adding that: “The agreement underscores that cooperation is key to ensure a competitive and autonomous European access to space”.
For Beyond Gravity, the largest order in the history of its launch vehicle business marks “an important milestone” both for the company and for “Europe’s space industry as a whole”, according to Beyond Gravity CEO Barbara Frei-Speiter, who adds: “With our ability to mass-produce highly complex launch vehicle structures to the highest quality standards, we are making a key contribution to the competitiveness of the European space industry”. No details regarding the financial volume of the contract were disclosed in the statement. However, according to a Beyond Gravity spokesperson quoted by the Luzerner Zeitung, the contract is also expected to help maintain capacity utilization at Beyond Gravity’s Emmen site, near Lucerne, over the coming years.
In November, Barbara Frei-Speiter will speak at the Open-i innovation conference in Zurich, where she will discuss the latest developments in Switzerland’s space ecosystem. Open-i describes itself as a Swiss innovation community and dialogue platform for business and academia. In 2026, the conference is taking place on 26 November at the Kongresshaus Zürich. It brings together experts from the Swiss innovation ecosystem to strengthen Switzerland’s leading position as an innovative and successful market. Open-i is organised by NZZ Connect, a subsidiary of the NZZ based in Bern. Tickets are now on sale.
