Feature story
On the Record with Arianespace Chairman & CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall
July 29, 2008
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2008 is an important year in Arianespace's strategy to develop the launch industry's most capable family of vehicles – providing a full range of capabilities for the mission requirements of its growing international customer base.
As the flight rate for Arianespace's heavy-lift Ariane 5 accelerates at Europe's Spaceport, the launch site in French Guiana also is being readied for future introductions of the medium-lift Soyuz and lightweight Vega.
In the following "On the Record" interview, Arianespace Chairman & CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall reviews the company's achievements during the first half of 2008, and outlines the activity for the months to come.
Question: Is Ariane 5 meeting your operational expectations so far this year?
Jean-Yves Le Gall: Arianespace's unofficial motto says it all: "Launches speak louder than words." We've already performed four highly accurate missions in 2008, and are on track to meet our goal of seven flights during the year – the highest rate since the 1999 commercial introduction of this heavy-lift launcher.
The missions to date have once again underscored Ariane 5's capability to handle a full range of customer requirements, orbiting six telecom satellites for operators in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and South America, along with the first Automated Transfer Vehicle – named the Jules Verne – for servicing of the International Space Station.
It is clear today that Ariane 5 remains the world's workhorse heavy-lift launcher, which backed by the industry's most reactive and capable launch team. Ariane 5's maturity is confirmed by its 26 consecutive mission successes.
Question: Has your new business in 2008 kept pace with the launch capacity offered by Arianespace?
Jean-Yves Le Gall: We have booked orders for seven new satellites so far in 2008. They bring the total Service & Solutions contracts signed by Arianespace to almost 300 – of which 261 payloads have been launched. This provides Arianespace with a backlog that is equal to more than three years of launch operations, enabling us to maintain the accelerated launch pace for Ariane 5 while also introducing Soyuz and Vega.
Question: What is the status of preparations for Soyuz at the Spaceport?
Jean-Yves Le Gall: Soyuz in French Guiana is rapidly becoming a reality! The basic construction activities for the new launch site are being completed, and a sea-going vessel arrived this weekend from Russia carrying 160 containers with infrastructure items for the operation of Soyuz and its Fregat upper stage.
 “We have booked orders |
Unloading operations of this major shipment will continue during the next several days, and it clears the way for arrival of the main contingent of Russian technicians, engineers and other specialists who will be responsible for completing the Soyuz launch facility.
Another important milestone also occurred this weekend with the 1,734th flight of a Soyuz vehicle. This launch, performed from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia, utilized the next-generation evolved Soyuz launch vehicle, which features a more powerful third-stage engine, a digital control system and a 4.1 meter-diameter ST fairing. The mission's success is another validation of the improvements and upgrades for Soyuz launchers to be flown from French Guiana.
Based on the progress to date, we are targeting the first flight of Soyuz from the Spaceport in the second half of 2009.
Question: How are the preparations going for Vega at the Spaceport?
Jean-Yves Le Gall: The work on Vega's launch site infrastructure also is progressing well. The former Ariane 1 launch pad is being reworked to accommodate Vega.
Full-scale models of the Vega's second, third and upper stages were delivered to French Guiana earlier this month, along with hardware, tooling and structures from the industrial partners in the Vega consortium. This equipment – as well as Vega's first stage, which will be loaded with solid propellant at French Guiana – is to be used for the vehicle's qualification with its launch site infrastructure.
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