Arianespace appoints Rutgers chief commercial officer

European launch service provider Arianespace has appointed Steven Rutgers to serve as its next chief commercial officer.

Rutgers began his career in the space industry over two decades ago, working his way progressively through the ranks – initially as the international market and account manager with Inmarsat distributor Xantic in the Netherlands. He subsequently worked in Hong Kong, Dubai, and Singapore with Stratos and Inmarsat, negotiating complex bids and supporting commercial development. His career has spanned the globe, from Europe to the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas, where he has conducted business with multiple sectors – including satellite operators and the government, telecommunications, oil and gas, mining, logistics, and fisheries industries.

Before joining Arianespace, Rutgers was the vice president of sales with the IoT (Internet of Things) company Hiber, where he successfully executed deals with large customers served by the satellite industry.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from the International School of Economics and Management, Rotterdam.

Rutgers is succeeding Emmanuel Franc, after a record year in 2022 in terms of order intake.

Arianespace has orbited over 1,100 satellites since 1980. The company provides satellite launch services with its family of three launchers, Ariane, Soyuz, and Vega. These rockets are launched from sites in French Guiana (South America) and Russian cosmodromes in Baikonur and Vostochny.

The company is headquartered in Evry, near Paris, France.

Approval given for the first Arianespace mission of 2019

An Ariane 5 rocket has been authorized for liftoff on Tuesday following Friday’s launch readiness review, which was conducted at a spaceport in French Guiana, South America.

The heavy-lift Ariane 5 launcher and its dual-satellite payload – comprised of Saudi Geostationary Satellite 1/Hellas Sat 4 (HS-4/SGS-1) and GSAT-31 – are flight-ready, Arianespace said in a mission update released Friday. Arianespace is a satellite launch service based in Europe.

With approval granted, the Ariane 5 is cleared for Monday’s rollout from the spaceport’s Final Assembly Building to its ELA-3 launch zone. Liftoff is scheduled for Tuesday at 4:01 p.m. EST.

The Ariane 5 will deliver a total payload lift performance of 10,018 kilograms into space during the mission designated Flight VA247. This total includes the two satellite passengers, plus the workhorse vehicle’s dual-payload deployment system and integration hardware.

Four space launches planned in the next 24 hours

If all goes according to plan four space rockets will launch from three different countries between 8 p.m. Wednesday and 8 p.m. Thursday Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

First, a Japanese H-2A rocket will launch at 8:17 p.m. EDT Wednesday carrying the Michibiki-2 navigation satellite, part of the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System. The launch will take place at the Tanegashima Space Center on Tanegashima Island, Japan.

Second, a NASA Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket will launch at 4:27 a.m. EDT Thursday and release ten canisters into space about the size of a soft drink can. The canisters will produce blue-green and red vapor clouds visible in the sky. These clouds, or vapor tracers, allow scientists on the ground to visually track particle motions in space. The launch will take place at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.

Third, a SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle will launch at 5:55 p.m. EDT Thursday carrying a Dragon cargo ship for the International Space Station. The launch will take place at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

Fourth, a European Ariane 5 rocket will launch at 7:45 p.m. EDT Thursday carrying the ViaSat-2 and Eutelsat 172B communications satellites. The launch will take place at the Guiana Space Center, French Guiana, South America.

Keep an eye on the DCNewsroom Live Video Events page to watch these launches.

Arianespace aims for new satellite launch record in 2014

Following a year of unprecedented orders, European-based Arianespace is gearing up to beat its record for the number of satellite launches during a year in 2014.

In 2013, Arianespace signed 18 launch contracts: 15 for geostationary satellites to be launched by the heavy Ariane 5 rocket, giving it a market share of 60 percent, and three for Earth observation satellites, to be launched by the smaller Vega booster.

Arianespace now has a record backlog of orders equal to more than three years of launches. With 21 Ariane 5 launches, nine Soyuz launches and six Vega launches, Arianespace continues to have the largest launch backlog in the industry.

With its family of Ariane 5, Soyuz and Vega launchers, Arianespace confirmed its ability in 2013 to handle a complete range of missions, from commercial launches into geostationary orbit to launches of scientific spacecraft into special orbits. Ariane 5 has now logged an impressive 11 years of uninterrupted success, with 57 successful launches in a row and 12 consecutive countdowns with launches taking place right on time.

Arianespace carried out eight launches in 2013: seven from the Guiana Space Center and one from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Three Ariane 5 ECA launchers orbited six telecommunications satellites, an Ariane 5 ES launched the fourth Automated Transfer Vehicle, dubbed "Albert Einstein", to the International Space Station, and two Soyuz missions orbited the first four 03b satellites, and the Gaia space telescope respectively. The second launch of Vega orbited the Proba-V, VNREDSat-1 and ESTCube-1 satellites.

On Dec. 14, Arianespace signed a contract with Astrium (now Airbus Defence and Space) for 18 additional Ariane 5 ECA launchers, to be used starting in 2017. Overall, the company has a total of 62 launchers (38 Ariane 5, 14 Vega and 10 Soyuz) under order.

Outlook for 2014

To meet the requirements of its record backlog of orders, Arianespace aims to beat its record for launches in a year, of ten in 2012. Operations will kick off in February, using Ariane 5 ECA for two geostationary transfer orbit missions: VA217, with ABS-2 and Athena-Fidus, then VA216, with Astra 5B and Amazonas 4A.

Ariane 5 ME

To meet emerging market requirements, including the advent of a number of small and medium satellites, calling on the advantages of electric propulsion systems, Arianespace hopes to be able to deploy its upgraded Ariane 5 ME launcher as soon as possible. This new version will offer greater flexibility, thanks to an upper stage equipped with the restartable Vinci cryogenic engine. A first launch could be carried out as early as 2018.

Ariane 6

Extending the advantages of Ariane 5 ME, the new Ariane 6 launcher will meet the needs of both government and commercial customers by offering competitive launch rates for large and small satellites alike. Arianespace fully supports the initiative by European Space Agency and the European space industry to develop the most competitive launcher possible over the next decade.

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Joint Europe/Qatar communications satellite arrives at launch site

The Eutelsat 25B satellite of Eutelsat Communications has arrived at the European spaceport in French Guiana and is now in final stages of preparation for launch by an Ariane 5 vehicle on Aug. 29.

Built by U.S.-based Space Systems/Loral, this high-power, multi-mission satellite is jointly owned by Eutelsat and Es'hailSat from Qatar. It will be operated at 25.5 degrees east on Earth's equator, currently occupied by the Eutelsat 25C satellite, in order to provide communications coverage over the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia for broadcasting, telecommunications and government services in Ku and Ka-bands.

The satellite is designed to provide service for 15 years or more.

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Video: Ariane 5 rocket launches Alphasat and INSAT-3D satellites

An Arianespace heavy-lift launcher orbited Europe’s largest ever telecommunications satellite, Alphasat, and India’s latest meteorological spacecraft, INSAT-3D, Thursday on the third Ariane 5 mission of 2013.

The Ariane 5 rocket lifted off at 3:54 p.m. EDT from French Guiana, South America, for a nearly 33-minute flight into Earth orbit, which marked the launcher’s 56th consecutive successful mission. The two solid propellant boosters on the Ariane 5 separated from the vehicle at an altitude of 67 kilometers.

Alphasat

Deployed first in the flight sequence nearly 28 minutes after liftoff, Alphasat is configured with a new-generation L-band geo-mobile communications relay system that will provide voice and data transmission services across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Alphasat is a partnership between the European Space Agency and operator Inmarsat, with support from the CNES French space agency.

With a liftoff mass of 6,650 kilograms, Alphasat was one of the heaviest passengers carried in the upper position of Ariane 5.

INSAT-3D

Some five minutes after Alphasat’s deployment, Ariane 5 completed its mission with the successful separation of INSAT-3D, which will provide enhanced meteorological observation and monitoring of land/ocean surfaces. The satellite carries a six-channel imager and 19-channel sounder, as well as a data relay transponder for satellite-aided search and rescue operations.

INSAT-3D was developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

“We are looking forward to the excellent operational performance of INSAT-3D for the next seven years, making a difference for the weather forecasting and disaster warning systems for the country,” said K. Radhakrishnan, the chairman of ISRO.

Designated Ariane Flight VA214 – this mission represented the 214th launch since operations began with the Ariane series of vehicles in 1979.

Arianespace’s next launch is targeted for Aug. 29, using an Ariane 5 to orbit the Eutelsat 25B/Es’hail-1 for Es’hailSat and Eutelsat, along with GSAT-7 for the ISRO.

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One of the world’s most sophisticated communications satellites

Arianespace is keeping up the mission pace at its French Guiana spaceport with the acceptance of another heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket, which now is being readied for the integration of a dual-satellite payload to be orbited on July 25.

Designated Flight VA214 (signifying the 214th liftoff of an Ariane-series vehicle), the mission will mark the 70th launch of an Ariane 5. The vehicle will carry the INSAT-3D meteorological satellite along with the Alphasat communications relay platform.

INSAT-3D

INSAT-3D was developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and carries weather forecasting payloads along with a search and rescue relay system. Its liftoff mass will be approximately 2,100 kilograms.

As part of the pre-launch checkout process, INSAT-3D underwent a test deployment of its solar panels in the spaceport’s clean room facilities – which is a typical checkout step performed by ISRO with its satellites once they are in French Guiana.

Alphasat

Riding as co-passenger on the upcoming Ariane 5 flight is Europe’s Alphasat, which is ranked as one of the world’s most sophisticated communications satellites. Alphasat carries a new-generation advanced mobile L-band communications payload along with four technological demonstration payloads for the European Space Agency (ESA).

Built by Astrium, Alphasat will have a mass of more than six metric tons at launch, and is to be operated under an agreement between the ESA and European commercial satellite operator Inmarsat.

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