Arianespace
Arianespace is a French company for space launch systems developed by ArianeGroup, namely the Ariane and Vega launcher families, created in 1980. The company defines itself in its own terms as a "launch operator". Since 2007, following an agreement between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Arianespace has also been responsible for launching the Soyuz launchers.[1] The Ariane launch base, located in Kourou in French Guiana (Guyana Space Center), offers Arianespace a significant advantage over its competitors due to its proximity to the equator in an area free of any risk of tropical cyclones.[2]
Arianespace Media
A model of an European rocket Ariane 1 in the Museum of Air and Space (Musée de l'air et de l'espace, Le Bourget, France)
Ariane 4 on launch pad
Vega launcher on launch pad
Mockups of all the launch vehicles that Arianespace markets as of 2017: Vega, Vega-C, Soyuz, Ariane 5, and the future Ariane 6.
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