The European launcher’s manifesto calls includes 11 missions launched from its spaceport in French Guiana, with an additional Soyuz launch planned for liftoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan via Arianespace’s Russian Starsem subsidiary.

Six of these missions will be carried out on Arianespace’s heavy-lift workhorse Ariane 5 launches. Four launches will be carried out on its customized medium-lift Soyuz and one on its newest light-lift Vega rocket.

   Arianespace’s busy 2013 schedule will commence Feb. 4 with the Starsem Soyuz mission to send six Globalstar second-generation constellation satellites into orbit from Baikonur. The company will then race back to the European French Guiana spaceport to launch the Amazonas 3 and Azerspace/Africasat-1a telecommunications satellites on an Ariane 5 rocket.

Speaking at a press conference, Arianespace Chairman and CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall said the company’s well-stocked launch catalog has allowed the company to establish multi-disciplinary teams for each of its three types of launchers.

   “[This scenario] creates synergies and reduces operational costs,” said Le Gall. “Looking at the Spaceport operations, Ariane 5 continues as the workhorse launcher, Soyuz has been working like clockwork since its introduction at French Guiana in October 2011, while Vega scored an on-target maiden flight during 2012, which is a real achievement when compared with other launcher introductions in our industry.”

   Arianespace’s planned Soyuz launches will carry especially critical satellites for both commercial and government customers. Two of the four scheduled Soyuz missions will combine to send eight satellites into orbit for O3b Networks in order to boost the operator’s highly anticipated broadband network. The other two Soyuz rockets will loft two full-operational capability Galileo satellites for Europe’s multibillion-dollar satellite navigation system, as well as the European Gaia satellite and the European Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) program’s Sentinel spacecraft.

   “Arianespace is a success in partnership with the participating European nations and their companies, and we will continue to set our sights on remaining number one in the industry,” said Le Gall.

   Arianespace’s current backlog covers three years of launch activity for a total of 4 billion euros in new business. The company maintained a 60 percent share of new launch contracts in 2012, signing 10 customer deals in the 12-month period. If all goes according to plan in 2013, Arianespace could secure its status as a top launch provider for several years to come. With the expansion of launch provider competition that has emerged since 2010, the health of the vanguard should be a good sign for the entire sector.