It was announced simply by Astrium's CEO François Auque — Astrium 2011: A good year. Their provisional revenues of 5 billion euros and an order intake of 3.6 billion euros despite an increasingly competitive economic climate.
Major contracts in 2011 included four for telecommunication satellites and 2 for Earth observation, the launch of the European Data Relay System (EDRS), the future data highway in space, and a contract from ESA to continue to manage the operation and exploitation of the International Space Station
The first benefits of the AGILE transformation program, including contracts in the United States and Asia (DIRECTV 15 and MEASAT- 3b)
The acquisition of Vizada, which, when integrated in Astrium Services, will create one of the world’s leading providers of satellite telecommunication services, and a strategic investment in Italy: Space Engineering
Astrium has once again demonstrated its outstanding reliability as the prime industrial contractor for the Ariane 5 European launch vehicle. The five perfectly executed launch campaigns in 2011, including that of the ATV-2 Johannes Kepler, have brought the number of consecutive successful launches to 46.
Thirteen satellites built by Astrium were also launched in 2011, including the first two Galileo IOV (In-Orbit Validation) satellites and the first satellite of the Pléiades constellation, for which Astrium Services is the civil operator and exclusive distributor of the very high-resolution images.
In 2011, Astrium also won six satellite manufacturing contracts: Two for Earth observation (Sentinel 4 instrument and Sentinel 5 Precursor satellite) and four for telecommunication satellites (Eutelsat 3B and 9B, MEASAT-3b and DIRECTV 15).
Astrium also entered into an agreement pursuant to which it will acquire 66.78 percent of the Italian company Space Engineering, a Rome headquartered specialist in digital telecommunications, RF and antenna equipment engineering for both space and ground based applications.
And lastly, Astrium finalized its majority shareholding of 75.1 percent in ND SatCom, the satellite equipment provider and ground systems integrator based in Friedrichshafen, Germany.
François Auque comments: “These acquisitions illustrate Astrium’s ability to grasp every opportunity that presents itself in these difficult economic times, so as to continue developing its business, both in its domestic markets and internationally. The aim we are pursuing through this strategy, which is aligned with EADS’ Vision 2020, is to seize every opportunity for growth, especially in the field of satellite services, and to establish a better balance between our revenues in the institutional markets and in the commercial markets.”
One of the major highlights of 2012 will be the integration of Vizada in Astrium Services, which will increase the total number of Astrium employees to close to 18,000.
The many launches planned for 2012 include the ATV-3 “Edoardo Amaldi”, the Metop-B weather satellite, Spot 6, and the three SWARM satellites designed to study the Earth’s magnetic field as part of ESA’s Earth Explorer program. Astrium also plans to deliver six Ariane 5 launch vehicles and five telecommunication satellites, namely Yahsat Y1B, Astra 2F, Skynet 5D, Eutelsat W5A and Alphasat I-XL.