Latest Press releases

Corporate March 7, 2016

Satellite 2016: Arianespace reaffirms its goal “Mission To Success”

Arianespace is of course present at Satellite 2016 in Washington, D.C., from Monday, March 7 to Thursday, March 10, and reaffirms its leadership in the global launch services market.

Arianespace in the spotlight at Satellite 2016

Arianespace will be focusing on its complete customer engagement at the show, as it spotlights its all-out commitment to using space for a better life on Earth by providing a full slate of launch services and solutions.

Arianespace’s first mission this year was on January 27, 2016, successfully orbiting the Intelsat 29e satellite for Intelsat. This was the 70th successful launch in a row for Ariane 5.

The week will feature meetings with a number of customers and partners and a very busy schedule at Arianespace’s booth at the Gaylord Convention Center (No. 1607), with three highlights in particular:

  • On Wednesday, March 9, Arianespace will carry out its second launch of the year from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, orbiting the EUTELSAT 65 West A satellite for the international operator Eutelsat Communications. Arianespace staff in Washington, C. will of course be keeping an eye on operations, along with Eutelsat management, via the launch webcast.
  • Stéphane Israël, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Arianespace, will be on the Global Launch Services panel scheduled for Wednesday, March 9 at 3:30 pm local time.
  • The status of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) program will be reviewed. The JWST is slated for launch on a dedicated Ariane 5 mission in October 2018, within the scope of a contract signed in December 2015 with ESA (European Space Agency). On Thursday, March 10, Stéphane Israël will visit NASA’s facilities at the Goddard Spaceflight Center, where the telescope is now being integrated.

Arianespace, leader in the global commercial launch market

Arianespace rose to the challenge of a sustained launch rate in 2015, by carrying out 12 successful missions from the Guiana Space Center (CSG), to launch 21 satellites for 14 customers.

At the same time, its revamped launch services offering resulted in the signature of contracts worth 2.5 billion euros, setting a new all-time record.

Building on this operational and business success, Arianespace kicks off the new year with the same determination. Its goal for 2016 is also 12 launches, including eight by Ariane 5 (which would be a new record), two by Soyuz (including an additional mission for the Galileo constellation, decided by the European Commission), and two by Vega.

2015, a record-breaking year

12 out of 12 successful launches:
six by Ariane 5, and three each
by Soyuz and Vega

21 satellites orbited for 14 customers

Contracts signed for:
8 Ariane 5 launches
22 Soyuz launches
3 Vega launches

Since the beginning of the year, Arianespace has already signed three new contracts for four missions:

  • 2 COMSAT NG satellites, to be launched by Ariane 5, for customers Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defence and Space on behalf of the French defense procurement agency DGA.
  • CERES satellite, for French space agency CNES as customer on behalf of the DGA.
  • 2 ViaSat satellites, for ViaSat Inc.

This dynamic business performance increases Arianespace’s backlog of orders to more than 5.5 billion euros, for 59 launches, or about four years of operations. The launch orders on hand include 24 Ariane 5 missions, 25 by Soyuz and 10 by Vega.

By the end of the year Arianespace plans to start marketing initial launches by Vega C and Ariane 6, Europe’s future launch vehicles, scheduled to make their first flights in 2018 and 2020, respectively. Arianespace’s ambitious goals are anchored in a policy based on innovation and building solid foundations for the future, to drive the continuous improvement of services delivered to customers.

About Arianespace 

To use space for a better life on earth, Arianespace guarantees access to space transportation services and solutions, for any type of satellite, commercial as well as institutional, into any orbit.

Since 1980, Arianespace has performed missions placing more than 500 satellites into orbit with its 3 launchers: Ariane, Soyuz and Vega.

Arianespace is headquartered in Évry, France near Paris, and has a facility at the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, plus local offices in Washington D.C., Tokyo and Singapore.

ARIANESPACE A SATELLITE 2016
PDF / 88 KB
Corporate February 25, 2016

Galileo constellation deployment: Arianespace to orbit two more satellites on a Soyuz launcher in May 2016

Read more