karn (08/10/82)
[From the August 9, 1982 issue of Amsat Satellite Report] Arianespace is the European consortium formed to market the launch services of the Ariane rocket developed by ESA, the European Space Agency. An intense competition has evolved between Arianespace and the US Space Shuttle. The competition is for customers. Satellite builders/users are highly critical of the Shuttle claiming that they can place their payloads in orbit far less expensively using Ariane than the shuttle. This despite the fact that the Ariane is expendable (not reusable) and the shuttle can be reused at least a hundred times or more. U.S. authorities counter that massive government subsidies in terms of very favorable financing agreements are the main factor in tilting the balance toward Ariane. What ever the real reason may be Arianespace has been enormously effective in marketing its launch services despite the setback on LO2 and the current delays resulting from a payload design problem. The problem with the payloads is not a result of any factor in the launch vehicle itself but rather the so-called "plasma sheath" problem which arose on MARECS-A (See ASR #30). Evidently the commercial satellite folks are confident enough in Ariane to place hundreds of millions of dollars in hardware and launch fees on the line. In just the first five months of 1982 Arianespace booked 10 new launches bringing their bookings to 24. The business boom has caused Arianespace to redouble their efforts at Kourou, French Guiana to complete the second launch pad. Current plans call for operations from the second pad to commence in 1985. Recent additions to the Ariane bookings include Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) Corp., Telesat Canada, Swedish Space Corp., INTELSAT, CNES United Satellite Limited (UK). Thanks KA1M.