 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Satellite Launcher Arianespace Seeks To Boost US Business
Washington (AFP) Feb 22, 2007 Europe's satellite launch group Arianespace hopes to boost its US business on rising demand for high-definition television, but said Thursday it remains locked out of lucrative US government contracts. Jean-Yves Le Gall, Arianespace's director general, told AFP in an interview that the company has ambitions to muscle into the commercial US market for satellite launch services during the next two or three years. "There's the potential for very strong demand here that will be driven by demand for high-definition television," Le Gall said in French on the sidelines of Satellite 2007, an industry gathering held here annually. If demand for high-definition TV blasts off in the US, as satellite TV broadcasters like EchoStar and DirectTV hope, Le Gall says it will trigger increased demand for new satellites which Arianespace would compete aggressively to deliver. The Arianespace executive is also pinning high hopes on the next generation of cell phones, including Apple's bid to roll out the iPhone, which may eventually offer Internet services as well as television shows to consumers wanting to buy the latest technology. He said Arianespace, which has 23 shareholders including the French space agency CNES and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, is targeting the United States, like Europe and Asia, as a key market for future satellite launches. Arianespace expects to post 2006 revenues close to one billion euros, according to Le Gall. He explained that new applications and the capital to finance new projects are two reasons why growth is likely to expand in the US market. However, Arianespace is likely to encounter stiff competition in the United States from rival International Launch Services (ILS) which uses the Russian Proton launch vehicle. ILS, a US-Russian group, has several years of experience under its belt, although the giant defense contractor Lockheed Martin dropped out of a partnership with the company last year, taking its Atlas rocket out of the venture. Arianespace's optimism does not appear to have been eclipsed by the fact that it cannot compete in the US government market for satellite launches due to the "Buy American Act" which restricts foreign involvement in US government satellite launches. "We are totally out of this market," Le Gall said. Military satellite launches represent a hefty share of demand for satellite launches, and that market is dominated by Lockheed Martin and Boeing, which operate the Atlas and Delta series of rockets respectively. "The Department of Defense pays very dearly for government launches," Le Gall said. Lockheed and Boeing joined forces last year to form the United Launch Alliance in a bid to launch government satellites on a more competitive cost basis. Le Gall said, however, that the Lockheed-Boeing alliance could also seek private launch contracts in future years and noted that this could present stiff competition to Arianespace.
Source: Agence France-Presse Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Launch Pad at Space-Travel.com Launch Pad at Space-Travel.com
Russia Space Agency Hopes Sea Launch Will Resume Operation In 2007
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Feb 21, 2007Rocket launches under the Sea Launch project could resume as early as in 2007 following the explosion of a rocket in January that damaged a launch platform, a deputy head of the Russian Space Agency said Wednesday. A Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket carrying a commercial communications satellite exploded shortly after lift-off from an oceangoing platform in the Pacific on January 31. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
