Arianespace will of course be participating in the World Satellite Business Week conference organized by Euroconsult in Paris from September 14 to 18, 2015. The company’s backlog of orders now exceeds 5 billion euros, a new record, for 56 launches to be performed by the three launchers in the Arianespace family. Arianespace’s dynamic business performance and proven ability to carry out 12 launches per year from the Guiana Space Center confirm the company’s position as the global benchmark in launch services, and its pivotal role in the process now under way to revamp the European launcher industry.

A record order backlog exceeding 5 billion euros and the latest contract announcement for BSAT-4a

On the first day of the week-long conference organized by Euroconsult in Paris, Arianespace announced the signature of a satellite launch contract with the American manufacturer Space Systems/Loral (SSL), as part of a turnkey contract signed with the Japanese operator Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT) for its new BSAT- 4a satellite, to be launched by an Ariane 5 towards the end of 2017.

Since the beginning of the year Arianespace has signed 13 launch contracts to launch nine geostationary satellites with Ariane 5, carry out 21 Soyuz missions into low Earth orbit (LEO) for the OneWeb Internet constellation, and perform three Vega missions for Earth observation spacecraft.

Arianespace’s backlog of launch orders now stands at over 5 billion euros, an all-time record for the company, and is equally divided (in terms of value) between missions to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) and missions to other orbits. A total of 56 launches are now planned over the next four years, including 21 with Ariane 5, 25 with Soyuz and ten with Vega, for 35 customers from around the world. These launches include satellites for all types of applications: telecommunications (65%), Earth observation (20%), navigation (10%) and science and technology (5%).

Arianespace’s business performance confirms the validity of its launch services, which strike an optimum balance between reliability, availability and price, based on a broad spectrum of solutions to meet the requirements of all market segments for both commercial and government customers, including the most innovative applications on the market.

Sustained operation rate, with eight successful launches in eight months

To meet unprecedented market demand, Arianespace has increased its rate of launches from the Guiana Space Center, where the company concurrently operates launch pads for Ariane 5, Soyuz and Vega and handles all launch operations. After completing 11 launches in 2014, and eight already this year since February, Arianespace is aiming for 12 in 2015. Two main actions have allowed Arianespace to increase its launch rate from the Guiana Space Center:

– Optimized combined scheduling of all three launch systems, including shorter launch campaigns.

– Deployment of the FCube building, dedicated to loading propellants on the Soyuz upper stage, Fregat. This building was used for the first time during the recent Soyuz campaign, leading to a successful launch.

Arianespace plans to carry out two more Ariane 5 missions by the end of the year, along with one each by Vega and Soyuz.

Arianespace’s pivotal role in shaping the future of the European launcher industry

To maintain its leadership in commercial space transport, in 2014 Arianespace initiated a competitiveness improvement plan for its launch solutions, in conjunction with all players in the industry. This competitiveness initiative was confirmed by the decisions made by ESA member states during their ministerial-level meeting last December in Luxembourg.

The governance of the entire industry is now being revamped to meet these goals, even before the introduction of Ariane 6, which features a modular design to address the requirements of both a changing commercial market and the future needs of European governments. Since the meeting in December, for instance, two decisive steps have been taken:

– June 2015: an agreement between the French government, French space agency CNES and Airbus Safran Launchers (ASL) for the purchase by ASL of CNES’s stake in Arianespace.

– August 2015: signature by ESA of contracts concerning the development of the Ariane 6 launcher with ASL, its launch facilities with CNES, and the upgraded Vega-C light launcher with ELV. To ensure the efficient preparation of Ariane 6 operations, Arianespace called a meeting on September 10 and 11 of its customers and satellite manufacturers, within the scope of an Ariane 6 Users’ Club.

Building on its complete family of launchers, the active preparation of Ariane 6 and Vega-C and as the driving force behind the new governance of the European launcher industry, along with its industry shareholders, ESA and national space agencies, especially CNES, DLR and ASI, Arianespace looks to the future with confidence. The company’s new baseline, “Mission to success”, is the symbol of its reaffirmed objective to deliver the best possible service to all customers.

About Arianespace

Arianespace is the world’s leading satellite launch company. Founded in 1980, Arianespace deploys a family of three launchers, Ariane, Soyuz and Vega, to meet the needs of both commercial and government customers, and has performed over 250 launches to date. Backed by its 20 shareholders and the European Space Agency, Arianespace is the only company in the world capable of launching all types of payloads into all orbits, from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. As of September 14, 2015, Arianespace had carried out 225 Ariane launches, 38 Soyuz launches (12 at the Guiana Space Center and 26 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, via Starsem) and five Vega launches. Arianespace is headquartered in Evry, near Paris, and has a facility at the Guiana Space Center, plus local offices in Washington D.C., Tokyo and Singapore.