Latitude (ex-Venture Orbital Systems) has been selected for its projects linked to the category "Micro-launchers" of the French investment program France 2030. The French government shows its support for the French aerospace company again.
One more acknowledgement for Latitude and its microlauncher, Zephyr. The French company is part of the 15 laureates of the "Micro-launchers" France 2030’s category. This ambitious investment plan, which includes €65M for microlaunchers, has been designed by the French Government and is operated by BPI and CNES. Supported by DGE, DGRI, DGA, and SGPI on their activities, BPI and the French space agency selected Latitude for "Xanthos". This project supports the development of the second version of Navier, the Zephyr’s engine. The first version, which benefited from a CNES R&D contract, will be tested before the end of the year.
This new step enriches this key year for the company. In 2022, Latitude reached several key milestones, including the campaign to test the Navier's igniter, the production of the first Navier engines, the hiring of fifty new employees, the partnership with the Scottish spaceport, Saxavord, a €10M Series A, the choice by the CNES to launch Zephyr from the Centre Spatial Guyanais, and the collaboration with Flying Whales to transit Zephyr by airship to Scotland. Finally, this year will be punctuated by the firing test of Navier.
"This is crucial on our path to developing a reactive and sovereign access to space, and we are honored to have the support of the French government," said Stanislas Maximin, CEO of Latitude. "These two awards, as well as the selection of three other key partners in the Zephyr’s development, depict our internal expertise and the expertise derived from our industrial fabric."