Q: Although there is a slight increase in the planned number of commercial launches this year, there is still a downturn compared with the 1990s. How many commercial launches will be made this year, what is Arianespace's share of this market and how will Arianespace cater for a market that appears to be flat at best?
A: After the successful return to flight of the Ariane 5 ECA, Arianespace plans to launch 5 more Ariane 5 this year with the objective of lofting nine satellites. From Baikonur with our sister company Starsem we have three Soyuz launches scheduled before the end of the year. We have already adapted to the market size with the retirement of Ariane 4 and the decision to maintain a single very standard vehicle, the Ariane 5 ECA.
In addition, the use of the Soyuz launch vehicle and the establishment of the Launch Services Alliance enable us to adapt our launches to market requirements and to remain the market reference.
Q: It seems that this year in particular you are suffering from delays to satellite deliveries, while last year it was delays to the launchers. It seems that the main problem is that the Ariane 5s are built largely for dual satellite launches and if there are delays in deliveries, you are at a disadvantage, in danger of using Ariane 5s for single satellite launches, under-utilised.
A: It is true that this year, satellites delays have been a particular difficult source of disturbance for our launch planning.
With the evolution towards heavier satellites, it is clear that Ariane 4 would no longer have been a viable solution. The only way to provide a financially balanced service is with dual launch which, in our view, provides significantly increased flexibility and a higher number of launch opportunities.
Q: Is there really a market for the Vega?
A: ESA and its European members states decided that Arianespace should have a complete fleet of launch vehicles to cover all possible market requirements. Concretely, this means Ariane 5 for heavy missions, Soyuz for medium-sized payloads and Vega for small satellites.
The market for Vega is, at least in the near and medium term, expected to be essentially a governmental market.
The building of the Soyuz launch pad at the Guiana Space Center has started and is now totally funded.
To this European-Russian co-operation, our Russian partners are bringing to French Guiana their expertise along with the world's only manned launch vehicle flying commercial missions and over 40 years of experience flying the Soyuz.
Q: Do you have a good idea of how the launch market is panning out, in terms of the number of commercial launches each year?
A: We consider that there is still some form of over-capacity in terms of satellites over most parts of the world. It could take two to three years to absorb it.
Meanwhile, we should not forget that the demand for satellite services is actually increasing. So, we see a fairly flat market of 12-15 satellites for the next two years, then a slightly increasing market up to probably 20 satellites a year in the next decade.
Q: The European Space Agency recently reported that it might be cheaper to launch some of its future planetary missions on US rockets if the US is participating in the specific spacecraft project. How do you feel about that?
A: There are some interagency agreements where a national space agency is supplying the satellite, or some significant parts of the satellite, while the other one [supplies] the launch. We do not have anything to say to that except that it has to work both ways: agencies may bring the satellite on some particular programmes, then may bring the launch on some others.
With our various launch vehicles we feel that European agencies may bring a lot to international co-operation programme that can give a great deal of comfort to space policy makers whenever they have to decide to embark onto a new programme.
BOXTEXT: "We should not forget that the demand for satellite services is actually increasing. So, we see a fairly flat market of 12-15 satellites for the next two years, then a slightly increasing market up to probably 20 satellites a year in the next decade"
Source: Flight Daily News