FLUG REVUE September 2004: Arianespace looks to the future

JEAN-YVES LE GALL

An interview with the Chief Operating Officer of launch services provider Arianespace

FLUG REVUE: After a difficult period last year, Arianespace is finally back in the black again. To what do you attribute this success?

We are indeed proud of this success, which above all is due to the adoption of the European Guaranteed Access to Space (EGAS) programme by the ESA Ministerial Council. This includes the resumption of work on the Ariane 5 ECA, the restructuring of the European launch system industry, which is currently undergoing a process of enormous cost reduction in line with market requirements, and our own reorganisation. At the same time we are becoming more flexible as far as the customer is concerned by developing a European family of launchers out of Ariane, Soyuz and Vega, as well as establishing the Launch Services Alliance with Boeing Launch Services and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. This means that in the event of problems of a technical nature or to do with deadlines, our customers will have the possibility of falling back on alternative systems. As a result of all these measures, we achieved a profit of Euro 9.2 million in 2003, on a turnover of Euro 559 million.

FLUG REVUE: How has the internal reorganisation of your company gone?

As a direct partner to industry, we now have a workforce of around 250 staff concentrating on the business areas of sales, programmes and financing. This makes us extremely well placed for our role as the central contractual partner of ESA in the area of launch services. The issue of capital allocation and redistribution, will now be clarified over the next few months. Despite extremely tough competition, we have succeeded in winning eight out of a total of 17 launch contracts concluded over the last year and in confirming our position as the world market leader. Our order book currently includes contracts for 33 satellites, worth over three billion Euro.

FLUG REVUE: What is your share of the costs of building a Soyuz launch base in Kourou?

Altogether, ESA will contribute Euro 223 million and Arianespace Euro 121 million. Our Russian partners are mainly supplying hardware, i.e. technical equipment for the launch platform, rather than contributing sums of money. The launch preparations will be based on the familiar Russian technology, as proven in Baikonur. All the components, including those required for future launch operations, will be transported to Kourou using our two special ships. Once the launch facility is up and running, we expect to handle between two and four launches per year.

FLUG REVUE: What role do you see new technologies such as the planned production of carbon fibre booster cases at MAN Technologie playing in the future?

Naturally we are following such developments with great interest. If the total weight of the launch vehicle is lower, then its payload capacity can be increased, and if this means that production effort and costs can be reduced, then that will enhance our competitive position in a hotly contested market. However, such fundamentally new technologies take a long time to reach maturity for series production, as the components have to first be fully tested. These booster cases will not therefore play any role in our next production batch of 30 launch vehicles, the order for which was signed at this year's Berlin Air Show.

FLUG REVUE: NASA is planning to revert to using conventional booster rockets to transport its manned space vehicles, once its shuttle fleet is taken out of service. Could you envisage Ariane 5 being used for this purpose?

In principle, it would be perfectly possible to launch astronauts on board Ariane 5. In fact, such missions were planned right from the start for this launch vehicle – think back to the plans for the construction of the European Hermes space shuttle. But ultimately such a decision would be up to ESA, especially as it would necessitate drastic technical modifications, plus the associated additional costs.

FLUG REVUE: On the subject of space shuttles, basic research is currently already under way in Europe for the future Hopper space transport system. Are you thinking ahead to this yet?

No. At present the Hopper transporter is only an industry project, not an ESA programme. Only if the Member States were to decide to actually implement Hopper would we then have to draw the appropriate conclusions. It is highly likely that responsibility for the launch operation would then lie with us, as the starting point for all the missions would be the European space launch centre in Kourou. But at present I believe that Ariane 5 and future variants of it still have many years ahead of them.

FLUG REVUE: Only a short time ago it transpired from a meeting between the ESA Director General and the heads of the European space industry that these derivatives will also need additional investment...

... But not from us. We are “only” the launch services provider and we pay industry for the rockets that we have ordered for specific launches. Any requirement for the development of future versions will be determined by and also financed by the European Space Agency. Everything else lies within the decision-making authority of the ESA Ministerial Council.

FLUG REVUE: The Vega solid-fuel rocket will be the third element of the future European family of launchers. It will be called an ESA project, but there is some degree of dispute about it amongst the partners. What is your position on this?

I would not like to pre-judge the issue. I just want to repeat that, as a launch service provider, we will deliver all the launch vehicle programmes that ESA decides on, and in the quality that is expected of us.

Matthias Gründer was asking the questions.

From page 18 of FLUG REVUE 9/2004

Last updated 16 August 2004

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