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Corporate February 19, 2014

Arianespace to launch OPTSAT 3000 and VENµS satellites

Arianespace and Italian company CGS S.p.A. announced the launch contract for the OPTSAT 3000 satellite today in Rome. Arianespace also announced that it had signed a launch contract with the Israeli Space Agency for the VENµS satellite.

The two satellites will be orbited together by a Vega launcher in early 2016 from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

The OPTSAT 3000 Earth observation satellite will be built by IAI (Israel Aircraft Industry) for the Italian Ministry of Defense, on behalf of the prime contractor team, CGS S.p.A. and Telespazio (Finmeccanica/Thales). Weighing about 400 kg at launch, it will be placed into a Sun-synchronous orbit.

VENµS (Vegetation and Environment Monitoring on a New Micro Satellite) is an Earth observation mission developed jointly by the Israeli Space Agency (ISA) and the French space agency CNES, within the scope of Europe’s Copernicus Earth monitoring program.

The VENµS satellite will be built by IAI. Weighing about 300 kg at launch it will be sent into Sun-synchronous orbit.

Following the contract signature, Arianespace Chairman and CEO Stéphane Israël said: “We are very proud of our selection for these two missions involving Italy, Israel and France. I would like to thank all of the partners in these two programs – the Italian MoD, CGS and Telespazio, the Israeli Space Agency and CNES – for placing their trust in us. With Vega now fully operational, Arianespace can clearly offer all customers a complete range of launch services perfectly tailored to their missions.”

About Arianespace

Arianespace is the world’s leading satellite launch company, delivering innovation to its customers since 1980. Backed by 21 shareholders and the European Space Agency, the company offers an international workforce renowned for a culture of commitment and excellence. As of February 19, 2014, Arianespace had carried out a total of 216 Ariane launches, 32 Soyuz launches (six at the Guiana Space Center and 26 at Baikonur via Starsem) and two Vega launches. Arianespace has a backlog of 20 Ariane 5, nine Soyuz and six Vega launches, equaling three years of business.

Arianespace lancera les satellites OPTSAT 3000 et VENμS
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Corporate January 14, 2014

2014 set to be a very productive year for collaboration between Arianespace and Italy

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