Arianespace

Arianespace

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Space
Founded	26 March 1980; 44 years ago (1980-03-26)
Headquarters	Évry-Courcouronnes , France
Key people	Stéphane Israël (CEO & ArianeGroup EVP)[1]
Products	Ariane 6, Vega
Revenue	€1.433 billion (2015)
Net income	€4 million (2015)
Number of employees	220 (2023)[2]
Parent	ArianeGroup
Website	arianespace.com

Arianespace SA is a French company founded in March 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider. It operates two launch vehicles: Vega, a small-lift rocket, and Ariane 6, a medium-to-heavy-lift rocket. Arianespace is a subsidiary of ArianeGroup, a joint venture between Airbus and Safran.

European space launches are carried out as a collaborative effort between private companies and government agencies. The role of Arianespace is to market the launch services, prepare missions, and manage customer relations. At the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in French Guiana, the company oversees the team responsible for integrating and preparing launch vehicles.

The rockets themselves are designed and manufactured by other companies: ArianeGroup for the Ariane 6 and Avio for the Vega. The launch infrastructure at the CSG is owned by the European Space Agency, while the land itself belongs to and is managed by CNES, the French national space agency.

As of May 2021^[update], Arianespace had launched more than 850 satellites in 287 missions spanning 41 years. The company's first commercial launch was Spacenet 1, which took place on 23 May 1984. In addition to its facilities at the CSG, the company's main offices are in Évry-Courcouronnes, a suburb of Paris.