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Feature story

Arianespace/CNES/ESA Ariane 4 launch team was honored by the U.S. Space Foundation

March 30, 2004

The launch team for Arianespace's highly successful Ariane 4 vehicle family was honored by the Space Foundation at its National Space Symposium - an annual event considered America's premier U.S. policy and program forum.

Jean-Marie Luton (left) is congratulated by Space Foundations CEO Elliot Puhlam as Antonio Fabrizi of ESA and Marc Pircher of CNES look on.

Presented at the symposium's March 29 opening ceremony in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the 2004 Space Achievement Award was accepted by Arianespace Chairman Jean-Marie Luton, Marc Pircher, Head of Launches for CNES, and Mr. Antonio Fabrizi, Director of Launchers for the European Space Agency (ESA).

The Space Foundation's award selection cited the Arianespace/CNES/ESA launch team for its development and operation of Ariane 4 - the workhorse family of commercial vehicles that launched 182 spacecraft for 50 clients from 1988 to 2003.

"It is particularly satisfying that the Space Foundation is recognizing Europe's Ariane 4 launch team for its accomplishments," said Clayton Mowry, President of Arianespace, Inc., which is the U.S.-based affiliate of Arianespace. "Ariane 4 ushered in a new era of commercial launch services to the direct benefit of telecommunications operators and other users across the U.S. and around the world."

With a maximum payload lift capability of 4,200 kg. to geostationary transfer orbit, the Ariane 4 family became the benchmark for reliability, accuracy and performance during its 15 years of operation.

Arianespace developed procedures for dual satellite payloads on Ariane 4 that were accepted as the industry standard. Launch teams regularly demonstrated their flexibility to match up payloads for missions - adapting when necessary for satellite swap-outs or delays requested by the customer or spacecraft manufacturer.

Operational experience gained with Ariane 4 is being applied to Ariane 5, the successor vehicle with a significantly larger payload capacity that will enable Arianespace to launch almost any dual combination of telecommunication satellite payloads - no matter what size or weight.

The Space Foundation's Space Achievement Award is bestowed annually to recognize an individual or organization that has demonstrated space achievement, a breakthrough space technology, or program/product success deemed to represent a critical milestone in the evolution of space exploration or development. Previous recipients include the U.S. Air Force, the NASA/Industry Galileo Space Probe Team, the U.S. Space Command and its component organizations, and the NASA/Boeing International Space Station team.

Based in Colorado, the Space Foundation (www.spacefoundation.org) is a U.S. non-profit organization whose goals are to advance civil, commercial and national space security endeavors as well as educational excellence.