12 Facts About Arianespace

Arianespace SA is a French company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider.

Arianespace offers a number of different launch vehicles: the heavy-lift Ariane 5 for dual launches to geostationary transfer orbit, the Soyuz-2 as a medium-lift alternative, and the solid-fueled Vega for lighter payloads.

Arianespace uses the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana as its main launch site.

Formation of Arianespace SA is closely associated with the desire of several European nations to pursue joint collaboration in the field of space exploration and the formation of a pan-national organisation, the European Space Agency, to oversee such undertaking during 1973.

Arianespace had offered launch services on the modified Soyuz ST-B to its clients.

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On 21 October 2011, Arianespace launched the first Soyuz rocket ever from outside former Soviet territory.

Since 2011, Arianespace has ordered a total of 23 Soyuz rockets, enough to cover its needs until 2019 at a pace of three to four launches per year.

On 21 January 2019, ArianeGroup and Arianespace announced that it had signed a one-year contract with the ESA to study and prepare for a mission to the Moon to mine regolith.

In 2020, Arianespace suspended operations for nearly two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2015, Arianespace shareholding was restructured due to the creation of Airbus Safran Launchers, which is tasked with developing and manufacturing the Ariane 6 carrier rocket.

Arianespace had halved subsidy support by €100m per year since 2002 but the fall in the value of the US Dollar meant Arianespace was losing €60m per year due to currency fluctuations on launch contracts.

Currently Arianespace operates 3 launch vehicles, including two versions of Ariane 5:.