Created in 1980, Arianespace was the world’s first commercial space transportation company. At this year’s World Satellite Business Week conference in Paris, Arianespace confirms its continued world leadership.
30 years of success
Since its founding in March 1980, Arianespace has signed more than 300 launch service & solutions contracts, and has launched 283 satellites for 77 customers –accounting for more than half of all commercial satellites now in service.
In the coming months, the heavy-lift Ariane 5 launcher will be joined at the Guiana Space Center by the Soyuz medium launch vehicle and the Vega lightweight launcher. As a result, Arianespace will have a complete family of launchers, capable of launching all types of satellites for all customers.
Pace-setting technical performance
With 38 successful launches in a row over the last seven years, Ariane 5 has largely proven its technical maturity and operational capabilities. Arianespace set a new record for Ariane 5 in 2009, with seven launches during the calendar year that orbited nine commercial satellites and three European government payloads.
Arianespace is maintaining this pace in 2010, as three Ariane 5 launchers already have successfully orbited six satellites on dual-payload missions: ASTRA 3B and COMSATBw-2; ARABSAT-5A and COMS; and NILESAT 201 with RASCOM-QAF1R.
Before the end of the year, three more Ariane 5 flights are planned. The next Ariane 5 launch is scheduled for October 28, and will loft the W3B and BSAT-3b telecommunications satellites.
Furthermore, Arianespace and its Starsem subsidiary will launch the first six satellites of Globalstar’s “new generation” constellation during a Soyuz mission set for October 19 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Record backlog
Capitalizing on its range of launchers, Arianespace has won more than half of the commercial launch contracts open to competition worldwide in the past two years. This gives it a very healthy backlog, with contracts from 27 customers.
Since the beginning of 2010, Arianespace already has signed nine contracts for the launch of geostationary satellites by Ariane 5, and five contracts to orbit the first 10 satellites in the Galileo constellation, using Soyuz.
Arianespace now has the largest backlog in the industry, with 32 satellites to be placed in geostationary transfer orbit using Ariane 5, along with six launches by Ariane 5 for the ATV cargo vessel to service the International Space Station and 17 launches of Soyuz.
Arianespace premiers an Ariane 5 film in 3D, and organizes a customer-wide meeting at the Euroconsult symposium
Arianespace will be in the spotlight at this week’s Euroconsult symposium, as the launch services company celebrates its 30th anniversary.
Arianespace will be presenting the world premier of a 3D film showing the liftoff of an Ariane 5. This film was made during the most recent Ariane 5 mission, and offers a fascinating look at Arianespace’s facilities at the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, as well as the launch itself.
In addition, Arianespace is organizing a meeting with all customers who have driven its success over the last 30 years, providing an insight into the company’s outlook for the future.
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