Feature story
Arianespace's 2007 outlook: Another busy year for the world's leader in commercial launch services
January 8, 2007
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Reporters from media organizations around the world were present at Arianespace's annual New Year's press conference. |
Arianespace is following its strong performance in 2006 with plans for an active mission schedule during the next 12 months, and the company has kicked off its commercial activity with an announcement of the first new launch booking of 2007.
Speaking at Arianespace's traditional New Year's press conference today, CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall said Arianespace has scheduled six Ariane 5 missions during 2007 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, along with three Soyuz launches by its Starsem affiliate at Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome.
"For the New Year, we will build on our successes of 2006, when Arianespace once again delivered on the promises made to its international clients," Le Gall told journalists attending the Paris press briefing. "While some competitors are still practicing price dumping and are frantically booking satellites they can't launch, Arianespace maintains the policy of meeting its commitments while offering services at prices that are coherent with the quality it delivers."
Le Gall also detailed Arianespace's first Ariane 5 launch contract of 2007, which has been booked by ProtoStar Ltd. for its ProtoStar I satellite. This is the latest order from a new telecommunications market entrant that has placed its confidence in Arianespace, and the booking marks the 280th contract signed since the company's creation 26 years ago.
Ariane 5's performance in 2006 validated the heavy-lift vehicle's operational maturity, as well as the ability to match up a full range of satellites for its trademark dual-payload missions. Le Gall noted that every Ariane 5 flight last year carried two primary satellite passengers, and all payloads were deployed in highly precise geostationary transfer orbits.
"Our clients were extremely pleased with Ariane 5's accuracy and with our ability to launch on time in 2006 – all while orbiting a total of 10 satellites and one auxiliary passenger," he added. "This operational performance was welcomed by the industry, which responded by once again making Arianespace its preferred launch services provider – placing a total of 12 new launch contracts with us during the year."
Le Gall said 2006 also saw key developments for the other two members of Arianespace's growing commercial launcher family: Soyuz and Vega.
The two Soyuz missions performed by its Starsem affiliate last year utilized improved versions of Russia's tried-and-true medium-lift workhorse, setting the stage for a 2008 introduction of Soyuz at the Spaceport in French Guiana. Additionally, the static test firing of Vega's first stage engine in November was a key milestone for this lightweight launch vehicle, which will be operated by Arianespace after its maiden flight in 2008 from the Spaceport.
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Arianespace's 2007 launch activity will start with an Ariane 5 mission that underscores the diversity of its customer base – which today covers the world's five continents. This initial flight of the year will loft the United Kingdom's Skynet 5A military relay satellite and the INSAT 4B telecommunications platform for India.
Ariane 5 launches in 2007 are to include five that carry dual-satellite payloads, along with a dedicated flight to loft Europe's large Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) for servicing of the International Space Station.
"The Ariane 5 ATV mission will be the launcher's first for the International Space Station, and this is a very important milestone for us," Le Gall said. "I recently met the director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in Washington, D.C., and it is clear that Ariane 5 is a truly capable vehicle for the support of the International Space Station."
2007 activity for Arianespace's Starsem affiliate will involve three Soyuz missions from Baikonur Cosmodrome, two of which will carry clusters of four satellites each for the Globalstar telecommunications constellation.
In concluding his near-term outlook at today's press conference, Le Gall said the next 12 months will see a continuation of preparations for the future arrival of both Soyuz and Vega at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. Creation of the new Soyuz launch infrastructure is now well advanced, and initial work is underway on the Vega launch site.
"With Arianespace's launcher family strategy and the prospect of sustained operations for years to come, the Spaceport is fast becoming the world's preferred launch base," Le Gall concluded. "We are on track for our objective of providing a rate of approximately 10 missions annually from French Guiana starting in 2010, composed of an average seven flights per year with Ariane 5, plus two Soyuz missions and a Vega launch."
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