Arianespace cut its losses last year despite the effect on sales of increased competition and stagnant demand for launches, which saw prices fall by 30% worldwide.
The European launcher company reduced its losses to €50million ($44 million) in 2001,compared with €242 million the previous year, despite a reduction in revenues to €800 million in 2001 from €1.1 billion in 2000.
Company chairman Jean-Marie Luton says that, despite the declining launcher market, Arianespace was still able to secure 13 launch contracts out of a total of 25 signed worldwide in 2001.
Luton hopes to sign between 10 and 15 launch contracts this year. Arianespace completed seven successful launches in 2001 compared with 12 in 2000.
Its only launch failure was the botched Ariane 5 flight in July which stranded two satellites in the wrong orbit after the upper stage malfunctioned.
The next Ariane 5 launch, carrying the European Space Agency's environmental flagship Envisat, has been delayed until February. Arianespace plans 12 launches this year, including five Ariane 5s.
The Ariane 5 flights will include the maiden flight of an uprated core stage, using the lighter and more powerful Vulcain 2 main engine.
Another flight will be the first to carry the improved ESC-A upper stage, powered by the HM-7B engine. The Ariane 5 with ESC-A will be able to place 10t into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) - a significant improvement on earlier models, which could only lift 6.5t to GTO.
The company has a backlog of 51 payloads, including nine supply runs to the International Space Station.
Source: Flight International
