A New Era for Europe's Rocket Sector

摘要

Call Antonio Fabrizi the father of Europe's Vega small-satellite launcher and he waves you off. It may be common among mechanical engineers to shun the spotlight as an inefficient use of time. But consider: Fabrizi in the late 1990s worked as head of launchers at the company now known as Avio, where he was involved in Vega's early designs. Avio is now Vega's industrial prime contractor. From Avio, Fabrizi in 2003 moved to the European Space Agency, where he was director of launchers until mid-2014. During that period, Vega went from being the butt of countless French and German jokes to a vehicle whose market is now viewed as exceptionally promising.