Arianespace has signed a deal with the European Commission for the purchase of five launches with the Vega C launcher, the company said on Tuesday.

The French group said in a statement it will launch five Sentinel satellites between 2024 and 2026 for the Copernicus programme to provide Europe with reliable access to earth observation data.

The launches are scheduled from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.

"To support the European Union's ambitions and to ensure its sovereign access to space is at the heart of our mission", said Arianespace CEO Stephane Israel.

Arianespace, a rival to Elon Musk's SpaceX, is majority-owned by ArianeGroup, a joint venture between Airbus (AIR.PA) and Safran (SAF.PA).