"We don't need a 12-tonne version. There's no market for it," the head of EADS Space Transportation, Josef Kind, told the Financial Times Deutschland.

"We should put the project on ice," he said.

The biggest Ariane rocket, the Ariane 5 ECA, is currently capable of carrying 10 tonnes, the equivalent of two big satellites, into space.

But forecasts of a fast-growing number of big satellites being launched have proven mistaken, FT Deutschland said.

Instead, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company is talking about the development of unmanned space gliders that could be operational between 2015 and 2020.

Kind said he expected a corresponding decision to be made by the European Space Agency in December.

The project would cost an estimated 200-250 million euros (252-315 million dollars) per year and would guarantee around 1,500 jobs, Kind said.

"I see support in Germany" for such a project, he said.

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