Arianespace
Arianespace is the world's first commercial launch services company, founded in 1980 and headquartered in Évry, France.
- Founded
- 1980
- Headquarters
- Évry-Courcouronnes, France
- Ownership
- Subsidiary of ArianeGroup
- Employees
- 180as of 2024
Quick Facts
About Arianespace
Arianespace is the world's first commercial launch services company, founded in 1980 and headquartered in Évry, France. The company provides launch services for commercial, institutional, and government customers from the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in Kourou, French Guiana. Ariane 5 (now retired after its final launch in July 2023) flew 117 missions over 27 years, establishing itself as the most commercially successful heavy-lift rocket of its era.
Ariane 6, its successor with two configurations (A62 two-strap-on, A64 four-strap-on), conducted its inaugural flight in July 2024 after years of delays, restoring Europe's autonomous heavy-lift access to space. Vega-C, the light-lift vehicle, suffered a launch failure in December 2022 and returned to flight in 2024 with improved upper-stage hardware. ESA agreed in August 2024 that Avio, Vega's prime contractor, would market Vega C directly; that handover was due to be complete by the end of 2025.
As of October 2025 Arianespace reported 355 missions and more than 1,100 satellites launched. Arianespace suspended Soyuz launches in March 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The company is majority-owned by ArianeGroup (with shareholders including Airbus and Safran) and CNES.
Products and product lines
| Product | Line | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Ariane 6 | Launch vehicle | Heavy/medium-lift vehicle in two-booster (Ariane 62) and four-booster (Ariane 64) configurations; entered service with its maiden flight on 9 July 2024 and first commercial flight (CSO-3) on 6 March 2025. |
| Ariane 64 | Launch vehicle configuration | Four-booster Ariane 6 variant carrying roughly 20 tonnes to LEO; flew for the first time on 12 February 2026 (VA267), Arianespace's first commercial Ariane 6 mission and the first launch of Amazon's Leo constellation on a European vehicle. |
| Vega-C | Launch vehicle | Light-lift vehicle grounded after a December 2022 second-stage nozzle failure; returned to flight 5 December 2024 with a redesigned Zefiro-40 nozzle, though ESA has been transitioning Vega-C commercial marketing to prime contractor Avio. |
| Ariane 5 | Launch vehicle (retired) | Heavy-lift vehicle retired after its 117th and final mission on 5 July 2023, a 96% success rate across 239 payloads since 1996. |
| Guiana Space Centre launch operations | Launch services | Arianespace conducts all its launches from the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in Kourou, French Guiana. |
| Amazon Leo (Project Kuiper) launch contract | Commercial launch services | Multi-launch agreement to fly Amazon's broadband satellite constellation on Ariane 6; the first 18 booked Ariane 6 missions include the LE-01 (Feb 2026) and LE-02 (Apr 2026) Amazon Leo flights. |
Timeline
- 1980 Arianespace is established (26 March 1980) by CNES and European industry to market and operate Ariane launches, becoming the world's first commercial launch services company. [source]
- 2022 Arianespace suspends all Soyuz launches operated with Russian affiliate Starsem after Roscosmos withdrew its personnel from French Guiana following EU/US/UK sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine. [source]
- 2023 Ariane 5 flies its 117th and final mission on 5 July, delivering the Heinrich Hertz and Syracuse 4B satellites and ending 27 years of service. [source]
- 2024 Ariane 6 makes its maiden flight (VA262) on 9 July in the Ariane 62 configuration, though a stranded upper stage after an auxiliary propulsion unit malfunction meant it was only a partial success. [source]
- 2024 Vega-C returns to flight on 5 December, launching the Sentinel-1C satellite after a redesigned Zefiro-40 nozzle fixed the fault behind the December 2022 failure. [source]
- 2024 ArianeGroup and Arianespace announce (19 December) that CEO Stéphane Israël, in the role since April 2013, will depart on 31 December 2024 and be succeeded by David Cavaillolès from January 2025. [source]
- 2025 Ariane 6 flies its first commercial mission (VA263) on 6 March, launching the French military CSO-3 imaging satellite. [source]
- 2026 The four-booster Ariane 64 configuration flies for the first time on 12 February (VA267/LE-01), deploying 32 Amazon Leo satellites in Arianespace's first commercial Ariane 6 mission. [source]
- 2024 ESA agrees (August) that Avio will market Vega C directly rather than through Arianespace, with the transition anticipated by the end of 2025. [source]
David Cavaillolès (CEO)
Team
Signals
- Launch vehicles
- Ariane 6
- Verification
- Verified 2026-09-12
Categories & Capabilities
Industry Categories
Vehicle Types
Propulsion Systems
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Frequently asked about Arianespace
Quick answers to the questions readers most often search for.
- When was Arianespace founded?
- Arianespace was founded in 1980 in France.
- Where is Arianespace headquartered?
- Arianespace is headquartered in Évry-Courcouronnes, France.
- What does Arianespace do?
- Arianespace is the world's first commercial launch services company, founded in 1980 and headquartered in Évry, France. The company provides launch services for commercial, institutional, and government customers from the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in Kourou, French Guiana. Ariane 5 (now retired after its final launch i…
- Is Arianespace a public or private company?
- Arianespace is a privately held company and is not listed on any stock exchange.
- What sector does Arianespace operate in?
- Arianespace works in launch services.
Sources
The structured fields on this page (founding year, location, sector, status, listing) and the profile text are drawn from the sources below. How profiles are drafted and checked is described in our methodology.
- Official website (arianespace.com)
- Company LinkedIn page
- Wikidata / Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-09-04
- Arianespace Newsroom: departure of Stéphane Israël, appointment of David Cavaillolès (19 Dec 2024) · retrieved 2026-09-06
- Wikipedia: Ariane 6 · retrieved 2026-09-06
- ESA: Ariane 5 bows out in style (final flight, 6 July 2023) · retrieved 2026-09-06
- SpaceNews: Vega C successfully returns to flight (5 Dec 2024) · retrieved 2026-09-06
- Via Satellite: OneWeb suspends launches from Baikonur, Arianespace suspends Soyuz launches (3 Mar 2022) · retrieved 2026-09-06
- Arianespace Newsroom: Ariane 6 first commercial flight with CSO-3 (6 Mar 2025) · retrieved 2026-09-06
- Arianespace Newsroom: first Ariane 64 launch, 32 Amazon Leo satellites (12 Feb 2026) · retrieved 2026-09-06
- Spaceflight Now: ESA targets Wednesday night for swan song launch of its Vega rocket · retrieved 2026-09-12
Data Accuracy Notice: Information about Arianespace is compiled from publicly available sources including company websites, press releases, regulatory filings, and industry reports. Data is reviewed periodically but may not reflect the most recent developments.