Centre européen pour la construction de lanceurs d'engins spatiaux
Arianespace is a multinational company and a leading commercial launch service provider, marketing and operating launch vehicles like Ariane 5, Soyuz, and Vega, and the upcoming Ariane 6. As a subsidiary of ArianeGroup, it plays a crucial role in providing independent access to space, particularly for European organizations and governments. Arianespace launches missions from the Guiana Space Centre and works with partners like the European Space Agency (ESA) and Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES). Key activities include preparing missions, managing customer relations, and offering a wide range of space-based applications, including telecommunications, science, navigation, and Earth observation.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
The three missions that did not take place in 2018—the Arabsat-ISRO Ariane 5, OneWeb’s first Soyuz, and the Italian Space Agency’s Vega launch of Prisma—are on Arianespace’s 2019 manifest.
The 10 Vega rockets ordered in 2017, a mix of Vega and Vega C, are expected to last Arianespace until 2021 or the beginning of 2022.
Arianespace planned to launch OneWeb satellites in the second part of 2019 contingent on OneWeb’s satellite readiness.
Arianespace has four launches of the light-lift Vega rocket planned for 2019, plus the maiden flight of the next-generation Vega C.
Arianespace completed its final launch of the year on 2018-12-19 by sending the French spy satellite CSO-1 into orbit on a Soyuz ST-A rocket.
The 2018-12-19 mission was the 20th Soyuz rocket to launch from the Guiana Space Center since Arianespace began offering a Europeanized version of the Soyuz rocket.
Arianespace launched six Ariane 5 heavy-lift rockets, three Soyuz medium-lift rockets, and two Vega light-lift rockets in 2018.
Arianespace completed 11 launches in 2018, matching its 2017 total but short of the 14 launches it projected for 2018.
Arianespace had expected to launch India’s GSAT-31 and Arabsat’s Hellas-Sat-4/SaudiGEOsat-1 on an Ariane 5 by the end of 2018.
Arianespace scheduled GEO-Kompsat-2B to launch about one year after GEO-Kompsat-2A on an Ariane 5.
Arianespace scheduled a Soyuz mission in the weeks after 2018-12-04 to launch CSO-1, a French military reconnaissance satellite, as its final launch of the year.
Arianespace completed its final Ariane 5 launch of 2018 on 2018-12-04.
Airbus Safran Launchers absorbed Arianespace in 2016 and later changed its name to ArianeGroup.
Arianespace launched the Mohammed 6-B satellite for Morocco on 2018-11-20.
On 2018-10-25 ESA adopted a resolution that encourages the prompt conclusion of launch service contracts with Arianespace for European institutional missions planned for the period 2020–2023.
ArianeGroup and Arianespace seek a European commitment to buy five Ariane 6 launches per year for government missions.
ArianeGroup and Arianespace seek a European commitment to buy two or three Vega C launches per year for government missions.
Team Indus’ Z-02 lander is being designed to be compatible with launch vehicles operated by Arianespace, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance.
Arianespace does not launch crewed Soyuz missions and uses a modified, Europeanized Soyuz to launch satellites.
An Arianespace Soyuz mission is scheduled to launch on 2018-11-06 Eastern time (2018-11-07 Central European Time).