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Feature story

Arianespace welcomes the French President at Europe's Spaceport

February 11, 2008

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was given a close-up look at Ariane 5 operations today, viewing the launcher that will be used for Arianespace's next mission with the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV).

Arianespace Chairman & CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall briefs French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Spaceport's Final Assembly Building.

Sarkozy is in French Guiana for a two-day visit, and his Spaceport tour included a stopover at the facility's Final Assembly Building – where he was briefed on Ariane 5's market success by Jean-Yves Le Gall, the Arianespace Chairman & CEO.

Le Gall explained that a total of 254 spacecraft have been orbited by Arianespace since the company's creation in 1980, serving 30 different customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; along with 20 in America and 16 in Asia. He outlined the upswing in Arianespace operations, with the seven Ariane 5 missions targeted this year to be followed by eight in 2008 - when Soyuz and Vega launches also are planned to start from French Guiana.

While at the Final Assembly Building, Sarkozy had an opportunity to see the Ariane 5 ES now being readied for its ATV payload, which is to be launched March 8 on a resupply mission to the International Space Station. With this milestone flight, the Spaceport will become part of the limited "club" of launch sites that support the International Space Station – joining the USA's John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome.

During his visit, Sarkozy underscored Ariane 5's important role in launches for commercial, governmental and institutional customers. He stressed that the workhorse vehicle's reliability "must continue to be our no. 1 priority." This goal will be achieved by investing in the vehicle and its launch infrastructure during the coming years to ensure the world's confidence in Ariane 5, Sarkozy added.

In his comments at the Jupiter launch control center, the French President also said Europe should consider working with the U.S. and other international partners on the proposed future exploration of Mars.