Following a very busy 2016 with 11 successful launches, new operational records, and 13 new launch contracts distributed across its entire family of launchers, Arianespace reaffirmed its leadership in the commercial launch services market.

Arianespace is tackling the future with confidence and is more committed than ever to serving its customers, based on a new governance structure, confirmation of the upcoming Ariane 6 and Vega C launcher programs, and the unrivaled reliability and availability of its range of launch vehicles.

During the year Arianespace carried out 11 successful launches from the Guiana Space Center (CSG) in French Guiana for both government/institutional and commercial customers from around the world, including Europe, Asia, Oceania and the Americas.

The teams at Arianespace stepped up to the challenge of carrying out six launches during the final four months of the year, ensuring that the company upheld its commitments to customers.

13 new launch contracts signed since January 2016
Arianespace has announced two new Ariane 5 launch contracts for telecommunications satellites: JCSAT-17, which will be the 20th SKY Perfect JSAT satellite entrusted to Arianespace, with a launch planned in 2019; and Intelsat 39, which is scheduled for a 2018 launch on behalf of Intelsat.

Arianespace has logged a dynamic business performance since January 2016 despite a slowdown in the telecom satellite market and increasingly aggressive price competition.

The company booked orders worth a combined total on the order of 1.1 billion euros during this period. Ariane 5 launcher maintains its leadership in the geostationary (GEO) satellite market, winning contracts for seven commercial GEO satellites, giving it over 50% of this market. Vega confirmed its attractiveness in the Earth observation market by winning two new launch contracts, while Soyuz also won two new contracts.

Arianespace's order book now stands at 5.2 billion euros, representing 55 launches for 32 customers. This success confirms the validity of Arianespace's launch services offering, designed to provide the best balance between reliability, availability and price, while also continuously adapting to changes in the market.

These changes include the growing role taken by hybrid or all-electric satellites, and the ramp-up of constellation projects dedicated to Internet access or Earth observation.

During an international press conference held in Paris, Arianespace Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stephane Israel said: "With 11 successful launches in 2016 - marked by new performance, reliability and availability records set by our three launch vehicles: Ariane 5, Soyuz and Vega - we met all commitments to our customers.

"Our order book now stands at 5.2 billion euros, including slightly more than one billion euros in new orders, and we have annual revenues of approximately 1.4 billion euros, clearly reaffirming our leadership in the commercial launch services market and our commitment to making life better on Earth.

"Benefitting from a new governance and the confirmation of the future Vega C and Ariane 6 launchers, Arianespace is now fully prepared to guarantee independent access to space for Europe, and to continue our leadership in the commercial launch services market for the next decade."