Arianespace, which carried out 15 launches in 2021, expects a "
very busy year
" in 2022 with a potential of 17 launches, including the inaugural flights of the Ariane 6 rocket and the Vega-C launcher.
The company responsible for operating and marketing European launchers last year put 305 satellites into orbit, two-thirds of which are communication satellites mainly for the operator OneWeb, announced its executive chairman Stéphane Israël, presenting his greetings to the press.
Read also Towards a first launch of Ariane 6 in 2022
It used three shots from the Ariane 5 heavy launcher, whose last flight will take place in 2023, three from the Vega light launcher and nine from the Soyuz medium launcher.
In 2020, Arianespace had carried out 10 launches, putting 166 satellites into orbit.
Of the 15 launches in 2021, 11.5 were intended for commercial customers, - Ariane 5 being able to carry a commercial satellite under its fairing at the same time as a government satellite - and the others to institutional customers (States and space agencies) .
Calendar shifted several times
"
Arianespace has been the leader in commercial launches,
" said Stéphane Israël, the American competitor SpaceX, who looks like a scarecrow, having only obtained six, according to him. There were 21.5 commercial launches worldwide last year for 86.5 institutional launches, the latter often being considered as captive markets, he recalled. These figures do not take into account the fifteen launches operated by SpaceX to deploy its own constellation of Starlink satellites.
This activity has boosted Arianespace's turnover by 30%, to more than 1.25 billion euros and "
allows us to aim for a break-even result
", according to the president of the Arianegroup subsidiary, builder of Ariane rockets.
Arianespace is planning an equally busy activity in 2022, with up to 17 launches depending on the conditions (four Ariane 5, nine Soyuz, three Vega-C including the inaugural flight scheduled for April and an Ariane 6).
Regarding the inaugural qualification flight for the future European heavy launcher, Stéphane Israël said he was "
confident that it will take place in the second half of the year
".
The schedule has been postponed several times due to the Covid and technical difficulties.
Read alsoThe Ariane 6 rocket on its way to Kourou for tests
At this stage, Arianespace's order book stands at 36 launches, including 11 for Ariane 6 split between institutional customers and commercial satellite operators, he noted, announcing that Arianespace had obtained the contract to launch the eight last satellites of the Galileo navigation constellation as well as the Platino 1 and 2 Earth observation satellites.
