Armand Carlier, CEO of Matra Marconi Space (MMS), has claimed the long-running problems with Matra’s solar arrays were "now sorted out; we know where the problem lies… and how to avoid it occurring again". He insisted that it had not affected the performance of any satellite in orbit, and this was broadly confirmed by WorldSpace (with AfriStar) and Eutelsat (with Hot Bird 5), both of which say that power losses have ceased. For those with satellites still on the ground who elect to replace their arrays with those from another source, Carlier said: "That is their privilege." Carlier said he knew of no reason why such arrays should be unsuitable. He would not be drawn on any questions of financial responsibility.

The MMS chief executive acknowledged that 1999 had been something of an off-year: "These things go in cycles," he said. For the future he saw most hope in broadband GEO satellites; he was not quite convinced that LEO satellites were the answer. The company’s GEO-mobile project EAST (with a Ku-band payload for fixed traffic) is currently stalled – at the advice of its bankers, reportedly, because of the present financial climate; Carlier felt it might find financing in six months’ time.

Meanwhile, just one day after Carlier called a press conference at Telecom99 in Geneva to say that this would "almost certainly be the last time be appeared not wearing an Astrium hat", the news broke that two of the parent companies involved (Aerospatiale Matra and DaimlerChrysler) were contemplating a mega-merger into the European Aeronautics, Defence and Space (EADS) company.

The merger involves a further sharp dilution of French government ownership to around 15 per cent. It is not impossible that the French ballistic missile activities might be taken out of the new group; this was one reason why they, together with Ariane launcher production, were not to be included in Astrium.