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Feature story

Arianespace: The no. 1 commercial launch company is also the leader in launch service solutions

December 24, 2004

Europe's Ariane program today marks the 25th anniversary of the launcher's first flight, underscoring a quarter century of achievement that has seen the vehicle set international standards for commercial flexibility and operational service.

Ariane 1 provided the basis for Arianespace's entry into the commercial launch services marketplace.

Ariane's maiden mission occurred on December 24, 1979 from the Spaceport in French Guiana, using an Ariane 1 launcher version that carried a payload of 1,645 kg. to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).

In the 25 years since the inaugural flight, 164 Ariane launchers have lofted a combined total of than 538 metric tons, placing its payloads into geostationary transfer orbit, Sun-synchronous orbit and Earth escape trajectories.

The Ariane 5 Generic launcher that is in service today carries 6,700-kg. payloads to GTO, while the increased-lift Ariane 5 ECA version will boost this GTO capability to 9,600 kg. when it enters operational service in 2005

Arianespace - which oversees the production of Ariane and handles its commercialization - has become the world's leading commercial launch services company, having signed contracts to orbit more than 250 payloads since its creation in March, 1980.

The most recent Arianespace mission on December 18 was Ariane's 164th flight, and it used an Ariane 5 G vehicle to orbit the French Helios 2A military reconnaissance satellite along with six auxiliary payloads.

The Ariane 5 is Arianespace's workhorse launcher for the future.

"The Ariane program founders were true visionaries, foreseeing the requirement for a commercial launcher that met the international market's needs," said Arianespace Chief Executive Officer Jean-Yves Le Gall.

"At Arianespace, we are proud to continue this legacy by offering Ariane as part of a comprehensive commercial launcher family that can carry any mass, to any orbit, any time."

During its career, Ariane vehicles have achieved numerous milestones, including:

• Opening the world's first space line by introducing commercial operations in May 1984. This mission - the ninth flight of an Ariane 1 vehicle, and the first under Arianespace management - carried the U.S. Spacenet 1 satellite, and was a first step in establishing Ariane as a launcher of choice for U.S. telecommunications operators and satellite manufacturers.
  
• Introducing regular dual-satellite launch opportunities for commercial payloads, enabling customers to double-up payloads for cost-efficient launch services.
• Lofting the world's largest commercial telecommunications satellite, the 5,950-kg Anik F2 which was orbited by Ariane 5 on Flight 163.
• Serving Europe's defense requirements by orbiting 23 military payloads for telecommunications, reconnaissance and other missions.
• Becoming a key element in the innovative Launch Services Alliance, which brings Ariane together with Boeing's Sea Launch vehicle and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' H-IIA to provide mission assurance for customers around the world.

The Ariane 5 is Arianespace's workhorse for the future, offering a new-generation launcher for large payloads. Ariane 5 represents the upper end of Arianespace's launcher family product line, which also includes the Soyuz medium-lift vehicle and the Vega lightweight launcher. Soyuz currently is launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and it will enter service from the Spaceport beginning in 2007. Vega also is to begin operations from the Spaceport in French Guiana.