Astrium recently inked a significant deal with Arianespace to provide 20 Ariane 5 vehicle equipment bays (VEBs). The contract is worth more than 150 million euros or US$140 million.
Under the agreement, the European aerospace giant will produce the equipment during a three-year period and begin deliveries in the fall of 2001. Likewise, Astrium will supply three types of equipment bays, which will be designed to help Arianespace reduce costs more than 35 percent, heighten launch performance and extend the rocket’s capability to launch more than one payload.
Three of the new equipment bays will extend the current series, 10 will provide a new ESC-A cryogenic upper stage, and seven will be adapted to Ariane 5’s multiple-orbits mission profile to enable re-ignition of the engine powering the storable propellant upper stage.
The seven equipment bays adapted to the Ariane 5’s multiple-orbits mission will support operations of up to six hours, compared with less than one hour today.
Astrium was formed by the merger of Matra Marconi Space with the space activities of DaimlerChrysler Aerospace. The company, owned by France’s Aerospatiale Matra, Germany’s DaimlerChrysler Aerospace and the United Kingdom’s BAE Systems, employs more than 7,500 people, generates annual revenue of US$1.86 billion and officially started operations last month. Its operations include earth observation and science, communications and ground systems, launchers and space infrastructure.
