Arianespace and UK-based launch company Orbex have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore possible joint offerings for small satellite launch customers. In May 2023, Orbex began construction of Sutherland Spaceport (formerly Space Hub Sutherland) on the North coast of Scotland. It is the first vertical launch spaceport to be built on the UK […]
Arianespace will launch its final Ariane 5 rocket on June 16th. The mission aims to launch two satellites: Syracuse 4B, built by Airbus Defence and Space for a French government defence role, and the Heinrich-Hertz-Mission, built by OHB for the German space agency DLR. The flight represents the end of the Ariane 5, a system […]
ArianeGroup’s CEO and Executive Chairman, Andre-Hubert Roussel, is reportedly stepping down, according to French newspaper La Tribune. Roussel heads up Ariane Group, which is the joint-venture between Airbus Defence & Space and Safran. His departure is because of recent failures by the company and, in particular, the recent third failure out of eight launches for […]
Arianespace says that a faulty component caused the loss of one of its Italian-made Vega rockets on December 20th 2022. The problem was probably caused by a faulty carbon component – in effect, a nozzle – which Italian aerospace group Avio had purchased from a supplier in Ukraine, Arianespace revealed as it published findings of […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has formally approved Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband-by-satellite low Earth orbiting system. The FCC said it os happy with Amazon’s mitigation plan in the event of potential collisions while in orbit as well as a mechanism to de-orbit failed or dead satellites. The FCC had previously approved the scheme (in 2020) […]
South Korea has selected Arianespace’s Vega C mid-sized rocket to launch its KOMPSAT-6 satellites that has remained grounded due to sanctions imposed on Russia for invading Ukraine. The satellite was due to be launched by a Russian Angara rocket from its Plesetsk Cosmodrome. South Korea’s vice minister for science, Oh Tae-seog, said that the Vega-C […]
Arianespace has appointed Steven Rutgers to serve as its next Chief Commercial Officer. Rutgers began his career in the space industry over two decades ago – initially as the international market and account manager with Inmarsat distributor Xantic in the Netherlands. He subsequently worked in Hong Kong, Dubai and Singapore with Stratos and Inmarsat, negotiating […]
The loss of a valuable Vega-C rocket and two Airbus satellites (valued at some €200 million) has resulted in Arianespace ordering an independent inquiry commission. An Arianespace statement said they and the European Space Agency (ESA) immediately decided to appoint an independent inquiry commission. “This commission is tasked with analysing the reasons for the failure […]
An Arianespace Vega-C rocket exploded shortly after take-off, and lost two satellites. The mission was carrying a pair of satellites for Airbus. They were part of the Pléiades Neo Earth-imaging constellation. The flight took off Tuesday (December 20th) at 10:47 pm local time; 01.47 GMT on December 21st. The first, more powerful stage of the […]
Rocket company Arianespace has received orders for five launches from the European Commission (EC). The orders come from the EC’s Director General for Defence, Industry & Space. The French group said it will launch five Sentinel satellites between 2024 and 2026 for the Copernicus programme to provide Europe with reliable access to earth observation data. […]