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.

Jean-Yves Le Gall - Chairman & CEO of Arianespace

Jean-Yves Le Gall is Chairman & CEO of Arianespace, the world’s leading launch Service & Solutions company.

His main mission is to define the company’s commercial strategy, and to develop and maintain a close relationship with its international clientele. As part of his job, he represents Arianespace in relations with European governments, space agencies, industrial partners, and shareholders in the company.

Le Gall is also Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Starsem, the company’s European-Russian subsidiary in charge of operating and marketing the Soyuz launch vehicle.

Le Gall has devoted his entire career to the European space program. He has held a number of management positions concerning both programs and strategy with several organizations, including the French Ministry of Industry, Novespace, French space agency CNES, Starsem and Arianespace, which he joined in 2001.

He is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) and he received the Astronautics Prize from the French Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AAAF) in 2001. He was recognized by the magazine Via Satellite as its 2005 Satellite Executive of the Year, and received the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 from the Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Council. He is now Chairman of the Industry Relations Committee of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and Co-Chairman of the EU-Japan Business Round Table (EJBRT).

Le Gall holds the rank of Knight in both the Legion of Honor and the National Order of Merit. He has been awarded “Ordre de l’Amitié” from the Russian Federation.

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