Latest Arianespace Stories

PARIS, February 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) and Arianespace today announced the signature of a long-term multiple launch services agreement which guarantees launch capacity and flexibility to Eutelsat for its industry-leading expansion programme. The agreement covers up to four launches in the 2016 and 2017 timeframe, with the assignment of each satellite to a launch vehicle to be made at a later stage. The new...

KYIV, Ukraine, December 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ukrainian rocket engines are getting difficult to compete with. The European Space Agency equips the upper module of its Vega rockets with the Ukrainian liquid-fuel RD-869 rocket engine. With the creation of Vega, the lightest in its arsenal, Europe should be able to launch rockets of all classes and not depend on Russia and the United States, reports Ukrainian ICTV. Today's technological advancement allow to create...

EVRY, France and ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Nov. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- EchoStar Corp. (NASDAQ: SATS) and Arianespace, SA, have reached an agreement to launch multiple new satellites over a multi-year period from Europe's spaceport in French Guiana. The new contract will provide EchoStar with launch capacity and flexibility for its industry-leading satellite program. "In July, EchoStar's wholly owned subsidiary, Hughes completed the successful launch of EchoStar XVII with Arianespace,...

PARIS, July 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Consolidating a relationship now entering into its 30(th) year, Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) and Arianespace today announced the conclusion of a new launch services contract for a future Eutelsat satellite. The assignment of the launch to a satellite will be made at a later stage. The contract for an Ariane 5 launch from the Guiana Space Centre provides Eutelsat with launch flexibility and schedule assurance for its in-orbit...

GERMANTOWN, Md., July 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite networks and services, today announced that the EchoStar XVII satellite built by Space Systems/Loral was successfully launched and placed into geostationary transfer orbit by Arianespace, setting the stage for the new HughesNet Gen 4 satellite Internet services offering dramatically increased performance and capacity. (Logo:...

ESA and Arianespace have signed contracts for the launches of two of ESA’s Sentinel satellites. Arianespace will launch Sentinel-2B and Sentinel-3B on Europe’s new Vega rocket from French Guiana. The contracts were signed by the Chairman and CEO of Arianespace, Jean-Yves Le Gall, and ESA’s Director General, Jean-Jacques Dordain, on 14 December in Evry, France. These agreements not only mark a significant milestone for ESA’s family of Sentinel satellites, but they are also...

The integration of Vega’s first, second and third stages is now complete at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The new rocket is moving full speed ahead towards its maiden flight at the end of January. The first Vega launch campaign began in November with the installation and testing inside the mobile gantry of the hundred-ton solid-propellant first stage, the P80, and the Interstage-1/2 structure that links the first two stages. The booster’s final acceptance included testing...

EVRY, France, Dec. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- O3b Networks Limited, the developer of a new global, high-speed, satellite-based internet network for telecommunications operators and ISPs, has exercised the first of the two options in its contract with Arianespace for an additional launch in 2014 for the O3b Networks' satellite constellation. By exercising this option, O3b has allocated a total of three launches of 12 satellites to Arianespace. The first eight O3b satellites are...

The Vega launch vehicle program has recently taken several major steps towards operation: the decision has been made to start the qualification launch campaign; ESA and Arianespace have ordered four new launchers; studies for the launch of the LISA Pathfinder mission have started. Launch campaign kickoff The Flight Readiness Review (FFR) for the Vega launcher was held in Frascati, Italy on 13 and 14 October. Based on this review, the Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA)...

[ Watch the Video ] Europe’s first two satellites for its Galileo global positioning system were launched Friday from French Guiana aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket. The launch of the Soyuz rocket from French Guiana also marks the first time the Russian rocket has launched from outside the former Soviet Union. The rocket lifted off at 7:30 a.m. local time from the base near Kourou, French Guiana, on the northeastern coast of South America. The Galileo navigational satellites were...