About Arianespace

Latest milestones

• December 29, 2011
  An Arianespace/Starsem Soyuz mission from Baikonur Cosmodrome with Globalstar second-generation satellites closes out a very busy year of launch activity. The total of nine flights performed during 2011 were composed of two Soyuz launches at Baikonur Cosmodrome conducted by Starsem on behalf of its Arianespace parent, along with Arianespace's first two Soyuz liftoffs from the Spaceport in French Guiana, and five Ariane 5 missions from the Spaceport - lofting a total of 29 payloads with a combined mass of more than 63,000 kg.
• December 14, 2011
  Arianespace announces the first commercial contract signing for its Vega lightweight launcher, booking two satellites in the Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 families dedicated to Europe's GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) program. The launches are scheduled for 2014-2016 from the Spaceport in French Guiana.
• November 7, 2011
  For the first time, flight preparations are underway with each member of Arianespace's full launcher family operating from French Guiana: the heavy-lift Ariane 5, the medium Soyuz and lightweight Vega.

Louis Laurent - Senior Vice President, Programs

Louis Laurent has served as Arianespace’s Senior Vice President, Programs since July 2008. In this role, he is responsible for Ariane, Soyuz and Vega development, launch preparation and operations.

He previously served as Vice President Development and Operation, in which he was responsible for Ariane 5 launch preparation and operations, preparations of the Vega launcher operation, and Ariane complementary developments.

Laurent joined the company in September 1999 as Vice President, International Affairs and Communications. In 2003, he became Vice President Development Programs, and was in charge of Ariane 5 ECA return-to-flight activities and preparations of Vega operations for the next three years.

Before joining Arianespace, Laurent worked at the French embassy in the United States as a space advisor, and was also head of the CNES French Space Agency’s office in Washington, D.C. Prior to this, he served in the Launcher Directorate at CNES for seven years, where he was responsible for a range of activities for the Ariane 4 and 5 programs.

Laurent is a graduate of l’Ecole Polytechnique, l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace, and l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Toulouse.

• Voir CV en français.
• Return to the Arianespace management team page.