Despite the downturn in much of the world's economy, the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders for Arianespace on April 8 in Evry, France, announced 2008 sales of 955.7 million euros, with net income of 2.5 million euros.

Arianespace enjoyed a positive year in 2008, in terms of both number of launches and new launch contracts as it carried out six Ariane 5 launches, orbiting 10 geostationary satellites plus the Jules Verne ATV to the International Space Station. It won 13 of the 18 launch contracts open to competition during the year.

Additionally, in 2008 Arianespace was selected by the European Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA) to launch the entire Galileo constellation. Since the beginning of the year, Arianespace has already carried out one Ariane 5 launch and has signed five new launch contracts: Hispasat 1E, Arabsat 5C and Badr 7, Yamal 401 and 402. Europe's satellite navigation system, called Galileo, image courtesy ESA.

Arianespace plans to carry out seven Ariane 5 launches in 2009, plus the first Soyuz launch from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. At the same time, Arianespace aims to maintain its ample market share through the concurrent operation of Ariane 5 and Soyuz, which perfectly matches the needs of the company's customers.