 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Space |
| Founded | 26 March 1980; 45 years ago (1980-03-26) |
| Headquarters | Évry-Courcouronnes n. Paris ,France |
Key people | David Cavaillolès (CEO)[1] |
| Revenue |  €1.25 billion (2021) |
Number of employees | 220 (2023)[2] |
| Parent | ArianeGroup |
| Website | arianespace |
Arianespace SA is a French company founded in March 1980 as the world's first commerciallaunch service provider. It operates theAriane 6, amedium-to-heavy-lift rocket. Arianespace is a subsidiary ofArianeGroup, a joint venture betweenAirbus andSafran.
European space launches involve collaboration between private industry and government agencies. Arianespace is responsible for marketing Ariane 6 launch services, preparing missions, and managing customer relations. At theGuiana Space Centre (CSG) inFrench Guiana, the company oversees teams that integrate and prepare launch vehicles. The launch infrastructure at CSG is owned by theEuropean Space Agency, while the site itself is managed byCNES, France's national space agency. The Ariane 6 rocket is designed and manufactured by ArianeGroup.
As of October 2025[update], Arianespace had conducted 355 missions and launched over 1,100 satellites across a span of 45 years.[3][4] Its first commercial launch,Spacenet 1, took place on 23 May 1984. In addition to its operations at CSG, Arianespace maintains its headquarters inÉvry-Courcouronnes, a suburb of Paris.
The formation of Arianespace SA is closely associated with the desire of severalEuropean nations to pursue joint collaboration in the field of space exploration and the formation of a pan-national organisation, theEuropean Space Agency (ESA), to oversee such undertaking during 1973.[5] Prior to the ESA's formation,France had been lobbying for the development of a new Europeanexpendable launch system to serve as a replacement for theEuropa rocket.[6] Accordingly, one of the first programmes launched by the ESA was theAriane heavy launcher.[6] The express purpose of this launcher was to facilitate the delivery ofcommercial satellites intogeosynchronous orbit.[7]
France was the largest stakeholder in the Arianedevelopment programme.[8] Frenchaerospace manufacturerAérospatiale served as theprime contractor and held responsibility for performing the integration of all sections of the vehicle, while French engine manufacturerSociété Européenne de Propulsion (SEP) provided the first, second and third stage engines (the third stage engines were produced in partnership with German aerospace manufacturerMBB). Other major companies involved included the French firms Air Liquide andMatra, Swedish manufacturerVolvo, and German aircraft producerDornier Flugzeugwerke.[8] Development of the third stage was a major focus point for the project - prior to Ariane, only the United States had ever flown a launcher that utilised hydrogen-powered upper stages.[9]
Immediately following the successfulfirst test launch of anAriane 1 on 24 December 1979, the French space agencyCentre national d'études spatiales (CNES) and the ESA created a new company,Arianespace, for the purpose of promoting, marketing, and managing Ariane operations.[10][11] According to Arianespace, at the time of its establishment, it was the world's first launch services company.[12] Following a further three test launches, the first commercial launch took place on 10 September 1982, which ended in failure as a result of aturbopump having failed in the third stage.[13] The six remaining flights of the Ariane 1 were successful, with the final flight occurring during February 1986.[14] As a result of these repeated successes, orders for the Ariane launcher quickly mounted up; by early 1984, a total of 27 satellites had been booked to use Ariane, which was estimated to be half of the world's market at that time. As a result of the commercial success, after the tenth Ariane mission was flown, the ESA formally transferred responsibility for Ariane over to Arianespace.[14]
By early 1986, the Ariane 1, along with itsAriane 2 andAriane 3 derivates, were the dominant launcher on the world market.[14][15] The Ariane 2 and Ariane 3 were short-lived platforms while the more extensiveAriane 4 was being developed; it was a considerably larger and more flexible launcher that the earlier members of its family, having been intended from the onset to compete with the upper end of launchers worldwide. In comparison, while the Ariane 1 had a typical weight of 207 tonnes and could launch payloads of up to 1.7 tonnes into orbit; the larger Ariane 4 had a typical weight of 470 tonnes and could orbit payloads of up to 4.2 tonnes.[16] Despite this, the Ariane 4 was actually 15 per cent smaller than the Ariane 3.[17]
On 15 June 1988, the first successful launch of the Ariane 4 was conducted.[17] This maiden flight was considered a success, having placed multiple satellites into orbit.[17] For the V50 launch onwards, an improved third stage, known as theH10+, was adopted for the Ariane 4, which raised the rocket's overall payload capacity by 110 kg and increased its burn time by 20 seconds.[18]
Even prior to the first flight of the Ariane 4 in 1988, development of a successor, designated as theAriane 5, had already commenced.[19] In January 1985, the Ariane 5 was officially adopted as an ESA programme, and began an eleven-year development and test program to the first launch in 1996. It lacked the high levels of commonality that the Ariane 4 had with its predecessors, and had been designed not only for launching heavier payloads of up to 5.2 tonnes and at a 20 per cent cost reduction over the Ariane 4, but for a higher margin of safety due to the fact that the Ariane 5 was designed to conduct crewed space launches as well, being intended to transportastronauts using the proposedHermes space vehicle.[20] Development of the Ariane 5 was not without controversy as some ESA members considered the mature Ariane 4 platform to be more suited for meeting established needs for such launchers; it was reportedly for this reason that Britain chose not to participate in the Ariane 5 programme.[21] For several years, Ariane 4 and Ariane 5 launchers were operated interchangeably; however, it was eventually decided to terminate all Ariane 4 operations in favour of concentrating on the newer Ariane 5.[22]
During the mid-1990s, French firmsAérospatiale and SEP, along with Italian firmBombrini-Parodi-Delfino (BPD), held discussions on the development of a proposed Ariane Complementary Launcher (ACL). Simultaneously, Italy championed the concept of a new solid-propellant satellite launcher, referred to asVega.[23][24] During March 2003, contracts for Vega's development were signed by the ESA and CNES; Italy provided 65 per cent of funding while six additional nations contributed the remainder.[25] In May 2004, it was reported that a contract was signed between commercial operator Arianespace and prime contractor ELV to perform vehicle integration atKourou,French Guiana.[26] On 13 February 2012, the first launch of the Vega took place; it was reported as being an "apparently perfect flight".[27][28] Since entering commercial service, Arianespace markets Vega as a launch system tailored for missions topolar andSun-synchronous orbits.[29]
During 2002, the ESA announced theArianespace Soyuz programme in cooperation withRussia; a launch site for Soyuz was constructed as theGuiana Space Centre, while the Soyuz launch vehicle was modified for use at the site. On 4 February 2005, both funding and final approval for the initiative were granted.[30][31] Arianespace had offered launch services on the modified Soyuz ST-B to its clients.[32][33] On 21 October 2011, Arianespace launched the first Soyuz rocket ever from outside formerSoviet territory. The payload consisted of twoGalileo navigation satellites.[34] 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.[35][36]
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 mineregolith.[37]
In 2020, Arianespace suspended operations for nearly two months due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. Operations were suspended on 18 March and are, as of 29 April, expected to resume on 11 May.[38] The return to operations will observe a number of new health and safety guidelines includingsocial distancing in the workplace.[38]
In 2023, Ariane 5 was retired with the introduction of newAriane 6, that conducted its maiden flight on 9 July 2024.
In August 2024, the ESA agreed to allowAvio—the prime contractor for the ESA-fundedVega[39]—to directly commercialize Vega C and seek non-governmental customers. Arianespace had handled marketing of Vega launches prior to that time. The transition is anticipated to be complete by the end of 2025.[40][41]
Arianespace "is the marketing and sales organization for the European space industry and various component suppliers."[42]
The primary shareholders of Arianespace are itssuppliers,[why?] in various European nations.[43] Arianespace had 24 shareholders in 2008,[44] 21 in 2014,[45] and just 17 as of October 2018[update].[46]
| Country | Total share | Shareholder | Capital |
|---|---|---|---|
 Belgium | 3.36% | SABCA | 2.71% |
| Thales Alenia Space Belgium | 0.33% | ||
| Safran Aero Boosters [fr] | 0.32% | ||
 France | 64.10% | ArianeGroup | 62.10% |
| Air Liquide SA | 1.89% | ||
| Clemessy [fr] | 0.11% | ||
| CIE Deutsche | <0.01% | ||
 Germany | 19.85% | ArianeGroup | 11.59% |
| MT Aerospace [de] AG | 8.26% | ||
 Italy | 3.38% | Avio S.p.A. | 3.38% |
 Netherlands | 1.94% | Airbus Defence and Space B.V. | 1.94% |
 Norway | 0.11% | Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS | 0.11% |
 Spain | 2.14% | Airbus Defence and Space SAU | 2.03% |
| CRISA | 0.11% | ||
 Sweden | 2.45% | GKN Aerospace Sweden AB | 1.63% |
| RUAG Space AB | 0.82% | ||
 Switzerland | 2.67% | RUAG Schweiz AG | 2.67% |
In 2015, Arianespace shareholding was restructured due to the creation ofAirbus Safran Launchers (later renamed ArianeGroup), which is tasked with developing and manufacturing theAriane 6 carrier rocket. Industrial groupsAirbus andSafran pooled their shares along with the French government'sCNES stake to form a partnership company holding just under 74% of Arianespace shares, while the remaining 26% is spread across suppliers in nine countries including further Airbus subsidiaries.[47]
By 2004, Arianespace reportedly held more than 50% of the world market for boosting satellites togeostationary transfer orbit (GTO).[48]
During the 2010s, the disruptive force represented by the new sector entrantSpaceX forced Arianespace to cut back on its workforce and focus on cost-cutting to decrease costs to remain competitive against the new low-cost entrant in the launch sector. In the midst ofpricing pressure from such companies, during November 2013, Arianespace announced that it was enacting pricing flexibility for the "lighter satellites" that it carries toGeostationary orbits aboard its Ariane 5.[42][49] According to Arianespace's managing director: "It's quite clear there's a very significant challenge coming fromSpaceX (...) therefore things have to change (...) and the whole European industry is being restructured, consolidated, rationalised and streamlined."[50]
During early 2014, Arianespace was considering requesting additional subsidies from European governments to face competition from SpaceX and unfavorable changes in the Euro-Dollar exchange rate. The company 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.[51] SpaceX had reportedly begun to take market share from Arianespace,[43]Eutelsat CEOMichel de Rosen, a major customer of Arianespace, stated that: "Each year that passes will see SpaceX advance, gain market share and further reduce its costs througheconomies of scale."[43]
By September 2014, Arianespace had reportedly to sign four additional contracts for lower slots on anAriane 5 SYLDA dispenser for satellites that otherwise could be flown on a SpaceX launch vehicle; this was claimed to have been allowed via cost reductions; it had signed a total of 11 contracts by that point, while two additional ones that were under advanced negotiations. At the time, Arianespace has a backlog of launches worth€4.5 billion with 38 satellites to be launched onAriane 5, 7 onSoyuz and 9 onVega, claiming 60% of the global satellite launch market.[52][53][54] However, since 2017, Arianespace's market share has been passed by SpaceX in commercial launches.[55]
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Currently, Arianespace operates two launch vehicles:
| Name | Payload toLEO/SSO | Payload toGTO |
|---|---|---|
| Ariane 62 | 10,350 kg (22,820 lb) | 4,500 kg (9,900 lb) |
| Ariane 64 | 21,650 kg (47,730 lb) | 11,500 kg (25,400 lb) |
Since the first launch in 1979, there have been several versions of the Arianelaunch vehicle:
France-based Arianespace has responded by squeezing, to a limited degree, its supplier base. But Ariane 5 builders are also Arianespace shareholders, limiting the company's leverage on them.
The Arianespace commercial launch consortium is telling its customers it is open to reducing the cost of flights for lighter satellites on the Ariane 5 rocket in response to the challenge posed by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.
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