Arianespace is participating in the PTC’13 conference organized by the Pacific Telecommunications Council in Honolulu from January 20 to 23, reaffirming its position as today’s benchmark launch services company for the world’s leading satellite manufacturers and operators. PTC’13 is the 2013 edition of the annual event in Honolulu that brings together communications and information technology professionals from throughout the Asia-Pacific.
Following an especially successful year in 2012, Arianespace starts 2013 with the stated objective of further bolstering its world leadership in the satellite launch market.
During a panel discussion on the satellite industry at PTC’13, Jacques Breton, Arianespace Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, expressed his thanks to telecom operators in the Asia-Pacific region for their continued trust.
Some 65% of all satellites now in service for this region were launched by Arianespace. Furthermore, Arianespace has been represented in this region for more than 25 years, with offices in Tokyo and Singapore.
Ahead of the pack
Since being created in 1980, Arianespace has signed over 350 launch contracts and launched 311 satellites. With 53 successful launches in a row, Ariane 5 closed out 2012 with ten uninterrupted years of success, an extraordinary level of reliability that is largely unrivaled in this industry.
And with seven Ariane 5 launches, plus two by Soyuz and one by Vega during 2012, Arianespace performed ten launches in a year from the Guiana Space Center for the first time. Two of these missions orbited the JCSAT-13 and Vinasat-2 satellites for Japan and Vietnam, respectively.
Order intake in 2012 was remarkable, giving Arianespace a market share of 60%, and a backlog of orders equal to three years of operation. Arianespace’s backlog is the largest in the industry, including 18 Ariane 5 launches, plus 12 for Soyuz and three for Vega. These contracts were signed with 25 different customers from around the world, especially in the Asia-Pacific region.
For example, in 2012 Arianespace signed the launch contract for the Jabiru-1 satellite with the new Australian operator, Newsat, and will launch the Optus-10 satellite this year for another Australian operator, Optus.