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PARIS- The \u200bEuropean Space Agency is considering increasing the launch rate of its Ariane 6 and Vega-C rockets in the \u200ccoming years to overcome a potential bottleneck in satellite deployments, the agency\u2019s chief said on Wednesday.<\/strong><\/p>\n Director General Josef Aschbacher told reporters that a decision would be needed soon if forecasts of a sharp rise in demand, expected to peak around 2030, prove accurate.<\/p>\n Based on Europe\u2019s own missions, as well \u200bas possible further interest from Amazon\u00a0and other commercial activity, there is more demand than planned \u2060capacity, Aschbacher said at an event organised by the AJPAE aerospace media association.<\/p>\n Amazon has already commissioned 18 launches.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course the \u200bquestion is, can we satisfy all these launches? That\u2019s exactly the assessment we are doing right now,\u201d Aschbacher said, adding that no \u200bdecisions had been made so far.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are already advanced in some of these estimates, but it\u2019s also clear that if we want to satisfy launch requirements in 2030 \u2026 we need to make a decision pretty soon to build up the capacities needed.\u201d<\/p>\n Arianespace, a subsidiary of Airbus-Safran rocket venture \u200bArianeGroup, declined to comment ahead of a regular news briefing planned for September 7.<\/p>\n The 23-nation ESA is exploring the feasibility of \u200blaunching humans into space on European rockets rather than hitching rides on U.S. vehicles, though the decision would be a political one.<\/p>\n Officials say \u200cthe initiative \u2060could increase ESA\u2019s budget by about 10%, depending on how it is funded. The issue is expected to feature at a space summit hosted by France next week.<\/p>\n MERGER UNDER SCRUTINY<\/strong><\/p>\n Aschbacher also gave the clearest signal yet that ESA is prepared to use its weight as Europe\u2019s largest buyer to ensure satellite competition remains amid plans for a major merger.<\/p>\n Airbus Thales\u00a0and Leonardo\u00a0last \u200byear to combine satellite manufacturing \u200bactivities into a new company \u2060code-named \u201cProject Bromo,\u201d in a deal awaiting antitrust approval.<\/p>\n While ESA is not directly involved in the negotiations, it accounts for roughly 60% of public-sector spending on satellites in Europe.<\/p>\n Aschbacher declined to say \u200bwhether he supported the merger, which he said was a matter for the companies and \u200bEuropean Commission.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I\u2019m \u2060saying is that ESA can certainly \u2026 use the tool sets that we have, meaning industrial policy, to ensure that the European space ecosystem will continue to flourish,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n That could include measures to protect the sector\u2019s supply chain, a key concern for companies outside the proposed \u2060venture.<\/p>\n Germany\u2019s OHB, \u200bwhich would be the main domestic European competitor to the new combined \u200bgroup, has warned the deal could weaken its own supply chain.<\/p>\n Airbus and its partners argue that competition should be assessed on a global basis rather than \u200ba European one, citing the need to compete with Elon Musk\u2019s Starlink.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n