Arianespace already has seen its order book grow in 2006 with eight additional satellites (including a contract announced today for Germany's SATCOMBw-2a and SATCOMBw-2b military communications platforms), while the three Ariane 5 missions performed so far this year have orbited six satellites - which is more than its direct competitors combined.

Le Gall is upbeat about the overall strength of the satellite communications industry, which has gone through a major transition that he believes will further increase the marketplace's dynamics.

According to Le Gall's assessment, the large operators that emerged from a recent wave of consolidation are pursuing extremely innovative projects, while other established operators and new entrants continue to develop their own services - particularly in regions of the world that are experiencing good economic growth.

Fair pricing for top quality launch services

With this positive outlook, Le Gall said Arianespace remains ready to meet the market's needs, providing Ariane 5 launchers that are fairly priced for the excellent level of service they offer.

"The industry now understands that Ariane 5 is the only launcher in its class that is truly operational, and which is backed by a production system that reliably builds six vehicles annually... with this rate eventually growing to seven or eight launchers per year," he explained.

"In addition, the quality that goes into Ariane 5 has allowed it to attain operational maturity today, reaching levels experienced by our workhorse Ariane 4 during its 'golden years' of service."

Speaking to reporters at a breakfast press conference today, Le Gall said all of these factors reinforce Arianespace's policy of pricing its launch services commensurate with Ariane 5's reliability, performance and in-orbit delivery accuracy.

"Our clients are telling us that some of Arianespace's competitors are facing difficulties in building launchers to meet existing mission rates, and are far from being able to ramp-up production to handle the flurry of orders they booked at highly discounted prices," Le Gall said.

"Satellite manufacturers and operators are beginning to see the reality...they understand there will be launch delays with the competitors beginning next year - perhaps with some significant slippages."

Arianespace's payload slots already are booked for the six missions targeted in 2007, but the company is ready to work with customers if launch opportunities open up in case of delivery delays with satellites already manifested on next year's Ariane 5 flights.

"You get what you pay for"

"However, I anticipate that many satellites will be grounded because of the other launchers' problems - with certain payloads delayed for long periods of time - which could create a fragility in the marketplace," Le Gall added.

"Once again, this demonstrates that 'you get what you pay for." With Ariane 5, our price includes the manpower, the quality control and the industrial network that comes with our commitment to the customer."

As Ariane 5 retains its dominant role in the commercial launch services marketplace, Arianespace is moving ahead with plans to expand its family of vehicles with the medium-lift Soyuz and lightweight Vega.

Construction of the new Soyuz launch site at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana is progressing quickly, with concrete now being poured following several months of groundwork preparations.

Equipment and systems for the Soyuz launch infrastructure will start arriving from Russia in 2007, and the initial mission remains scheduled for the second half of 2008. Arianespace already has booked four satellite payloads for Soyuz launches from the Spaceport.

The small Vega launcher continues its development in a program managed by the European Space Agency, with a major milestone planned this November when the vehicle's P80 first stage motor is to be static test fired. This follows the successful initial test of Vega's second stage motor - the Zefiro 23 - in June, and the test firing of the Zefiro 9 third stage motor last December.

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