Chairman and CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall outlines Arianespace’s strong market position and its launch planning for 2009 during the company’s Paris Air Show press conference. Additionally, it received an order for four navigation satellites that will be launched into circular orbit.
“While we beat our commercial order record in 2008, I think we’ll go even further this year,” Le Gall said. “In reviewing the contracts signed so far in 2009, these payloads underscore just how much Arianespace has become the company that all [telecommunications] operators prefer for their launch services.”
The 10 geostationary transfer orbit payloads won to date in 2009 are Hispasat 1E, Asabsat 5C and Badr 7, Yamal 401 and 402, Intelsat New Dawn, JCSAT-13, Alphasat I-XL – as well as two spacecraft signed last weekend and announced today: ST-2 for the Singapore/Taiwan joint venture ST-2 Satellite Ventures Pte Ltd; and ABS-2 for Hong Kong-based ABS.
For missions other than to geostationary transfer orbit, Arianespace has been contracted to launch four IOV (In Orbit Validation) satellites for Europe’s new Galileo space-based navigation system. This agreement was completed yesterday at the Paris Air Show, and will use two Soyuz launchers to place the IOV payloads into 23,000-km. circular orbits.
Le Gall said the record backlog of satellites to be launched by Arianespace is now composed of 35 spacecraft for geostationary transfer orbit (which will be lofted by Ariane 5, or Soyuz for the smaller payloads), seven governmental launches with Ariane 5s (which includes seven Automated Transfer Vehicles for servicing of the International Space Station), and nine dedicated Soyuz launches.
From the industrial point of view, Arianespace is well equipped to handle its strong business volume by using Ariane 5s built in a standard configuration for production repeatability, and backed by the company’s long-term commitment with 35 additional Ariane 5 ECA heavy-lift vehicles ordered last January as the new PB batch.
Arianespace continues to target seven Ariane 5 flights in 2009 from Europe’s Spaceport, with its next mission now scheduled for July 1 to orbit TerreStar 1 – which will become the world’s largest commercial telecommunications satellite ever launched.
Preparations continue for the completion of Soyuz’ new launch site at the Spaceport, and Le Gall said the focus is on performing this medium-lift vehicle’s inaugural flight from French Guiana in the first weeks of 2010. The lightweight Vega also is scheduled to make its maiden liftoff from the Spaceport during 2010, thereby bringing Arianespace’s launcher family to its full force of three different vehicles.