Global reinsurance firm Munich Re has revealed itself as one of the insurers for the European Vega rocket, which failed about two minutes after lift-off from the European base in French Guiana on Thursday (July 11).
The rocket was carrying a military observation satellite for the United Arab Emirates. A brief statement by Arianespace, the company that markets the imaging satellite, said the mission came to a swift end after a “launcher anomaly occurred”.
According to a Reuters report, the combined insurance policy for the rocket and satellite totalled 369 million euros (US$415.57 million). This was the 15th launch of Europe’s Vega rocket and it’s first failure.
David Todd, head of space content at satellite analysis firm Seradata, told Reuters this is the largest ever space insurance loss.
