Feature story
A visit to Arianespace's Paris Air Show exhibit
Paris Air Show 2005 - Le Bourget, France
June 13, 2005
Arianespace's display at the 2005 Paris Air Show provides a snapshot of the company's launch services leadership during the past 25 years, and offers a look forward to the evolution that will maintain the company at the forefront of the commercial marketplace over the long-term.
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The Ariane 5 fairing offers an impressive opening exhibit in Arianespace's outdoor display at the Paris Air Show. |
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On entering the exhibit, visitors are given an impressive close-up look at major Ariane 5 component: a half-shell portion of the launcher's massive payload fairing, which protects satellite passengers during the launcher's initial ascent.
The fairing shown at Le Bourget is a short version, which is 12.7 meters long and weighs 1,940 kg. when equipped with its Helmholz acoustic absorbers. Ariane 5 payload fairings are available in three versions, complementing the launcher's ability to accommodate payloads of various weights and sizes, with the largest fairing having an overall length of 17 meters. On the fairing displayed at the Paris show, the flat cup-shaped acoustic absorbers that line most of the fairing's interior are accentuated by special-effect color lighting.
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Arianespace's growing launcher family of the Soyuz, Ariane 5 and Vega are displayed as scale models on the Le Bourget exhibit stand. |
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Arianespace's exhibit continues with scale models of the company's expanded launch vehicle family, which is composed of Ariane 5, Soyuz and Vega. The ongoing Ariane 5 operations from the Spaceport in French Guiana will be expanded with the introduction of Soyuz missions beginning in 2008 from a new launch facility now under construction.
The Vega will complete Arianespace's launcher family with a lightweight launcher tailored for smaller scientific, institutional and other payloads. Flights of the Vega from French Guiana also are scheduled to begin in 2008.
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The Automated Transfer Vehicle's cargo area is shown in a cutaway of the scale model on Arianespace's exhibit stand. |
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Accompanying the Paris Air Show's launcher display are scale models of three current and future Arianespace payloads: Europe's Venus Express space probe (which is scheduled to be launched on October 26 aboard a Starsem Soyuz-Fregat vehicle from Baikonur Cosmodrome); the Galileo civilian navigation satellite (slated for launches starting in 2005 to fill a 30-spacecraft constellation); and MetOp platform (Europe's first polar-orbiting satellite dedicated to operational meteorology, which will be launched beginning in 2006).
Arianespace's future operations also are symbolized by a scale model of Europe's ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle) resupply spacecraft, which will be launched by Ariane 5 beginning in 2006. CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall said the first ATV to be orbited - which has been named the Jules Verne - marks the start of a new era of human spaceflight support for Arianespace.
Although no crewmembers will be launched aboard the ATVs, this resupply spacecraft complies with human spaceflight safety requirements, and for the first time, Ariane 5 will fulfill missions for the European Space Agency's Human Spaceflight, Microgravity and Exploration Directorate.
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