Arianespace is to buy US$518.3m worth of rockets from Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. Under the deal, Arianespace will be able to launch up to ten Soyuz missions from French Guiana by 2016.
The deal was signed following a bilateral state meeting in…
Arianespace is to buy US$518.3m worth of rockets from Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. Under the deal, Arianespace will be able to launch up to ten Soyuz missions from French Guiana by 2016.
The deal was signed following a bilateral state meeting in St Petersburg between Nicolas Sarkozy and Dmitri Medvedev, the respective French and Russian leaders, who were discussing a possible strategic partnership.
Illustrating the relationship between the two countries was Arianespace’s ongoing contracts with Roscosmos, which builds the Soyuz rockets.
The contract, signed by Arianespace head Jean-Yves Le Gall and Roscosmos chief Anatoly Perminov, will see the Russians develop, manufacture and deliver Soyuz-ST rockets, while also providing ground technological pre-launch and launch equipment and propellant components. Arianespace will be responsible for developing the technical facilities and managing construction efforts.
Prior to the deal, Arianespace was already lined up to launch 17 Soyuz missions. Each year, the company is hoping to launch some seven Ariane 5 flights, two Soyuz missions and one Vega launch.
The first Soyuz ST rocket is scheduled to lift off in December.
