– The contract repurposes a previous launch agreement and introduces one additional satellite. – IS-41 & IS-44 will expand Intelsat’s global connectivity and 5G reach. Arianespace signed a contract with longtime customer Intelsat to launch two satellite payloads, IS-41 and IS-44, using the heavy-lift Ariane 64 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana in 2025. This agreement repurposes a previous launch contract and adds one additional satellite. “We are honored, yet again, by our faithful longtime partner Intelsat with another significant contract,” said Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace. “Intelsat is entrusting us with two highly sophisticated payloads for flight aboard our next generation heavy lift vehicle, the Ariane 64. What a tremendous vote of confidence in our team and our launcher! This special relationship goes back four decades and spans the entire Ariane line.” “Launched with the Ariane 6, these innovative satellites will extend Intelsat’s 5G global reach and Media neighborhoods with high-speed, dynamically-allocated connectivity across Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia for commercial and government mobility customers, as well as cellular network backhaul,” said David C. Wajsgras, CEO of Intelsat. “Without world-class, international aerospace partners like Arianespace, Intelsat would not be the global leader it is today.” Thales Alenia Space is manufacturing the IS-41 and IS-44 satellites, which are based on the innovative and flexible Space Inspire product line. The two software-defined satellites, fully reconfigurable in orbit, will collectively weigh close to 8000 kg at launch and will be placed into the requested geostationary transfer orbit. Ariane 6 has been designed from the outset to be scalable and able to integrate, during its life and on a regular basis, new technologies. Ariane 6’s incremental development is intended to regularly improve the performance of the launch solutions offered by Arianespace and always better fulfil the needs of both institutional and commercial customers. These developments are funded and managed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and implemented by Ariane 6’s launcher system prime contractor ArianeGroup. About Arianespace Arianespace uses Space to make life better on Earth by providing launch services for all types of satellites into all orbits. It has orbited over 1,100 satellites since 1980. Arianespace is responsible for operating the new-generation Ariane 6 and Vega C launchers, developed by ESA, with respectively ArianeGroup and Avio as industrial primes. Arianespace is headquartered in Evry, near Paris, and has a technical facility at the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, plus local offices in Washington, D.C., Tokyo and Singapore. Arianespace is a subsidiary of ArianeGroup, which holds 74% of its share capital, with the balance held by 15 other shareholders from the Ariane and Vega European launcher industry, and ESA and Cnes as censors. ARIANESPACE VA LANCER DE NOUVEAUX SATELLITES INTELSAT AVEC ARIANE 6 PDF / 325 KB ARIANESPACE LAUNCHT INTELSAT-SATELLITEN AUF ARIANE 6 PDF / 156 KB ARIANESPACE LANCERÀ SATELLITI INTELSAT CON ARIANE 6 PDF / 70 KB

– The highest performing version of Ariane 6, Ariane 64, will be used over three years to orbit satellites of the Project Kuiper broadband constellation. Arianespace and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) announced an unprecedented launch service contract during the International Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, USA, on April 5. Under the terms of the contract, Arianespace will perform 18 Ariane 6 launches for Amazon’s Project Kuiper over a period of three years from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Among the 18 launches planned for the deployment of the Project Kuiper, 16 will be carried out with an advanced version of the Ariane 64. Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace, declared: “This contract, the largest we’ve ever signed, is a great moment in Arianespace’s history. We are honored to be given a significant role to play in the deployment of Amazon’s Project Kuiper, which aims to connect tens of millions of people to the internet. It will build on the European innovative spirit, industrial might, and years of experience of the Ariane partners. That Amazon has chosen the Ariane 6 to do the job is a matter of tremendous pride for us and a great vote of confidence for our new launch vehicle. This day marks a decisive success for the Ariane 6 Program and all its value chain in Europe.” Arianespace is renowned for its competence in deploying institutional and commercial satellite constellations. For this contract, Arianespace will rely on the Ariane 64 vehicle, the highest performing European launcher which is perfectly tailored for the demanding work of deploying constellations. Ariane 6 will enter service and replace the Ariane 5 as Arianespace’s heavy lift workhorse. The versatility, high capability, and expected reliability of the Ariane 6 played a key role in securing this agreement with Amazon for the Project Kuiper. Ariane 6 has been designed from the outset to be scalable and able to integrate, during its life and on a regular basis, new technologies. Out of the 18 A64 launches, 16 A64 will benefit from an increase in the power of the P120C solid boosters (called “P120C+” version). Ariane 6’s incremental development is intended to regularly improve the performance of the launch solutions offered by Arianespace and always better fulfil the needs of both institutional and commercial customers. These developments are funded and managed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and implemented by Ariane 6’s launcher system prime contractor ArianeGroup. Amazon’s Project Kuiper aims to connect the unconnected, providing high-speed, low-latency broadband to unserved and underserved communities across the globe at affordable rates. Homes, schools, hospitals, businesses, governments, and institutions that lack access to connectivity could soon have it through Project Kuiper. About Arianespace Arianespace uses space to make life better on Earth by providing launch services for all types of satellites into all orbits. It has orbited over 1,100 satellites since 1980. Starting in 2022, Arianespace will operate the new-generation Ariane 6 and Vega C launchers, developed by ESA. Arianespace is headquartered in Evry, near Paris, and has a technical facility at the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, plus local offices in Washington, D.C., Tokyo and Singapore. Arianespace is a subsidiary of ArianeGroup, which holds 74% of its share capital, with the balance held by 15 other shareholders from the European launcher industry. ESA and CNES are advisory board members.