Arianespace

Arianespace was created on March 26, 1980, immediately following the successful first test launch of Ariane 1 on December 24, 1979, by the French space agency CNES and the European Space Agency (ESA). As the world's first commercial launch services company, Arianespace revolutionized the space industry by offering reliable, commercial access to orbit for satellite operators worldwide. Headquartered in Évry-Courcouronnes, a suburb of Paris, Arianespace oversees launch operations at the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in French Guiana, which offers ideal equatorial launch location for geostationary missions. The company operates as a subsidiary of ArianeGroup and serves as ESA's commercial launch service provider. With over 45 years of operation, Arianespace has conducted 355 missions as of October 2025, launching more than 1,100 satellites for customers from around the globe. The company's portfolio has included historic missions such as deploying NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (December 2021) and ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE, April 2023). After the retirement of the highly successful Ariane 5 in July 2023 following 117 launches with a 96% success rate, Arianespace now operates the next-generation Ariane 6 launcher, which completed its successful inaugural flight in July 2024 and is ramping up to operational cadence with over 30 missions booked.