[Satellite News – 3-19-08] With AMC-14 failing to reach its intended orbit following a problem with its Russian Proton launch vehicle, the launch services industry again faces an uncertain period.
    This is the second failure since September for a Proton rocket carrying a commercial satellite for an International Launch Services (ILS) customer, and Sea Launch returned to service in January after being ground for nearly a year, meaning that among the three busiest heavy-lift launch providers, only France’s Arianespace has not suffered a launch failure in the past 15 months.
    In the wake of the January 2007 Sea Launch failure, Arianespace was able to add extra missions to meet the needs of some commercial satellite operators, but Jean-Yves Le Gall, chairman and CEO of Arianespace, is not sure that the launch provider can pull off the feat again due to its normal launch commitments.
    Le Gall spoke with Satellite News Associate Editor Mark Holmes about the state of the launch industry.

Satellite News: What was your initial reaction when you found out about the latest failure?

Le Gall: Once again, it is a very tough job, and this kind of failure is a reminder that quality and reliability must be our paramount concern. At Arianespace, we are working on this issue to be sure that our launches will be successful. We have had 23 successes in a row with Ariane 5, but we are continuing to work very hard in order to guarantee our customers the best quality in the world.

Satellite News: Do you think with access to space being at a premium, launch providers are moving to quickly to return to service?

Le Gall: During the last 12 months we have clearly established new standards in this business. We have hosted a number of successful on-time launches. We have set new standards for two reasons. Firstly, we have made our engineers work on the quality issues. The first part of the life of Ariane 5, we had 14 launches and four failures. In the second part of the life of Ariane 5, we had 23 launches and 23 successes. We also do not overbook. When we commit to a launch date with our customers, we want to succeed with our commitment. In 2007, we committed to six launches and we did six launches. In 2008, we are committed to seven launches, and in 2009, we are committed to eight launches. I do not want to commit for more.
    As you can imagine, we have a number of requests from customers who are suffering from problems with some of our competitors. They want launching slots, but I do not want to promise more than I can deliver.

Satellite News: Are there any circumstances where you could increase your capacity again?

Le Gall: We are fully booked for this year. We are almost fully booked for next year. We are not fully booked for 2010. We have faithful customers who have made reservations ahead of time to have launch slots. We are working with these customers. We have excellent customers who have made a one-to-two-year launch window for slots, but at the end of next year, and in 2010, we have a number of slots that are available because we have decided to increase our launch capabilities. There will be eight Ariane 5 missions launched in 2009. This means 15 or 16 launch slots. This latest launch failure will not have any implications for us in the short-term, but in the mid- and long-term, it will give us a premium to offer customers.

Satellite News: With three failures in 15 months, is the launch industry facing uncertain a period?

Le Gall: For Arianespace, we have a good position. We are working hard with customers to provide the best service in the world. We have successes behind us, but our competitors such as Sea Launch and ILS have had recent failures. Sea Launch had difficulties in returning to flight.
    For me, there are two launch services industries. You have Arianespace and then on the other side, you have all the other industries. At the same time, you have to realize it is a very tough business.

Satellite News: What are the major challenges for Arianespace this year in the launch services arena?

Le Gall: The challenge this year is to perform seven launches and have these done on time. The satellite industry has to realize that signing launch services with launch service providers that are not that reliable is not a good choice because at the end of the day it will have consequences. I have been saying this for a long time to our customers. Customers who have stayed with us have guaranteed launch slots. Others may well have other consequences.