PARIS — European governments will be able to cease their annual payments of $150 million or more to balance the books of the Arianespace commercial launch consortium if they agree this year to spend $1.5 billion on a new upper stage for the heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket, the chief executive of Europe’s Astrium space company, Francois Auque, said Jan. 19.

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Peter B. de Selding was the Paris Bureau Chief for SpaceNews.