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“Airbus Defence and Space”
The Best Laid Plans: Europe’s Ambitious Launch Year Goes Awry Due to International Tensions, Schedule Delays
The James Webb Space Telescope lifted off on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, at 13:20 CET on 25 December 2021 on its exciting mission to unlock the secrets of the Universe. (Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace)

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

On Christmas Day 2021, an European Ariane 5 rocket roared off its launch pad in French Guiana with the most expensive payload the booster had ever carried, the $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope. The launcher performed perfectly, sending the most powerful space telescope on a journey to its final destination 1.5 million km (900 million miles) from Earth. The launch was so accurate that Webb should have sufficient propellant to perform science operations for much longer than its planned 10-year lifetime.

There was a collective sigh of relief among the European, American and Canadian scientists and engineers involved in the long-delayed program. It was a superb Christmas gift to a world suffering through the second year of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

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  • August 1, 2022
Safran, Airbus and CNES at Forefront of Earth-Space Optical Communications

PARIS (CNES PR) — In partnership with CNES and Airbus Defense & Space and as part of the TELEO project, Safran Data Systems has successfully delivered the first in a series of digital modems dedicated to Earth-Space optical communications: the Cortex Lasercom.

Laser optical communications will make it possible to achieve speeds 10 to 100 times higher than the radio frequency communications currently used. Heir to the Cortex HDR, the world reference satellite imagery reception modem, Safran Data Systems has developed the Cortex Lasercom modem equipped with processing and decoding capabilities allowing to reach a record speed of 10 Gigabits per second of bit rate for Earth-Space optical communications, a level unequaled in the world.

The Cortex Lasercom will be used in several cooperation projects between Safran, Airbus and CNES, and will equip future optical ground stations (OGS) (Optical Ground Stations) marketed by Safran. These OGS will allow the link with all future satellites that will carry laser communication capabilities with the Earth. Two demonstrations on Airbus and CNES programs will take place in 2023, a world first: LASIN on the constellation of CO3D imaging satellites, and TELEO on the future BADR-8 telecommunications satellite. On this occasion, the Cortex Lasercom will be equipped with error-correcting codes developed by Airbus Defense & Space, which make it possible to deliver useful and error-free information to the user.

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  • July 27, 2022
Following the Success of the Inaugural flight, Arianespace to Start Operations of Vega C with Seven Launchers Already Sold
Vega-C lifts off on its maiden flight on July 13, 2022. (Credit: Arianespace)
  • Following the success of its inaugural flight, Vega C will now begin its operational phase, under the responsibility of Arianespace, with a target of at least four launches per year and a fast-growing backlog that already includes 7 launches and 10 auxiliary payloads.
  • Vega C is an upgrade to the Vega launcher and can better answer institutional and commercial customers’ needs. Thanks to its increased capabilities, Vega C will serve the burgeoning Earth observation market as well as long-term institutional and commercial needs.
  • The first commercial launch of Vega C is scheduled in November 2022. The flight, designated VV22, will deliver Pléiades Neo 5 and 6, a pair of satellites wholly funded, manufactured and operated by Airbus.

KOUROU, French Guiana (Arianespace PR) — On Wednesday, July 13 at 10:13 am local time in Kourou, French Guiana, the first Vega C, the new European launcher designed and manufactured by AVIO, was successfully launched under the supervision of ESA from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana (South America).

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  • July 13, 2022
Northrop Grumman Selects Airbus US Space & Defense as its Satellite Platform Supplier for Tranche 1 Transport Layer Prototype Constellation
Northrop Grumman’s T1TL mesh satellite constellation will provide resilient, low-latency, high-volume data transport supporting U.S. military missions around the world and serve as a critical element for Joint-All Domain Command Control. (Credit: Northrop Grumman)


REDONDO BEACH, Calif., July 5, 2022 (Northrop Grumman PR) – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) today announced the selection of Airbus U.S. Space & Defense Inc. as the commercial provider of satellite platforms for its proliferated-LEO constellation. Under the terms of the contract, Airbus U.S. will supply 42 satellite “bus” platforms, as well as support vehicle assembly, integration and testing.

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  • July 5, 2022
Thales Alenia Space Reaches Major Milestone in CRISTAL Mission Development for Europe’s Copernicus Earth Observation Program

Contract amendment signed for development and qualification of the IRIS radar altimeter

CANNES, France, June 27, 2022 (Thales Alenia Space PR) — Thales Alenia Space, the joint company between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), today signed an amendment to the CRISTAL contract with Airbus Defence and Space, prime contractor for the satellite. The amendment provides for the development and qualification of IRIS, the Interferometric Radar Altimeter for Ice and Snow to be carried on the Copernicus polaR Ice and Snow Topography ALtimeter (CRISTAL) mission. CRISTAL is part of the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Expansion program, in partnership with the European Commission. Copernicus is a European flagship program providing Earth observation and in situ data, along with a broad range of services for environmental monitoring and protection, climate monitoring and natural disaster assessment to improve the quality of life for all European citizens.

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  • June 27, 2022
First Ariane 5 Launch of 2022 Orbits Satellites for MEASAT and NSIL
Ariane 5 launches on June 22, 2022. (Credit: Arianespace)

– The Ariane 5, operated by Arianespace, has successfully placed two telecommunications satellites into geostationary orbit: MEASAT-3d for the Malaysian operator MEASAT, and GSAT-24 built by the Indian Space Agency ISRO on behalf of NSIL.
– Carrying out its first mission of the year, and the 113th overall, Ariane 5 once again demonstrates its exceptional reliability.
– Mission VA257 will improve broadband coverage in the Asia-Pacific region and represents another commercial success for Ariane 5 in the Asia-Pacific market.

KOUROU, French Guiana, June 22, 2022 (Arianespace PR) — On Wednesday, June 22, 2022 at 06:50 pm local time, an Ariane 5 launcher lifted off from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana (South America), successfully orbiting two geostationary telecommunication satellites, MEASAT-3d and GSAT-24.

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  • June 22, 2022
Mynaric and Airbus U.S. Space & Defense, Inc. Sign Contract for Laser Communication Demonstration on ISS Bartolomeo Platform
Bartolomeo platform on the International Space Station. (Credit: Mynaric)

Airbus’s payload hosting platform to demonstrate Mynaric’s laser communication product on the International Space Station 

HOUSTON, May 12, 2022 – Mynaric (NASDAQ: MYNA)(FRA: M0Y) and Airbus U.S. Space & Defense, Inc. have signed a contract to host Mynaric’s CONDOR Mk2 terminal for space-based laser communication on the International Space Station’s (ISS) functional testbed, Bartolomeo. Mynaric plans to operate its industrialized optical communications terminal on the ISS, with the goal of demonstrating the product’s capabilities in low Earth orbit and providing its customers with an extended range of experimental mission scenarios.  

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  • May 12, 2022
Airbus Reports Strong Full-Year 2021 Results
  • 611 commercial aircraft delivered in 2021
  • Financials reflect strong operational performance group-wide
  • Revenues € 52.1 billion; EBIT Adjusted € 4.9 billion; EBIT (reported) € 5.3 billion
  • Free cash flow before M&A and customer financing € 3.5 billion; Net cash € 7.6 billion
  • Record net income of € 4.2 billion; EPS (reported) € 5.36
  • Dividend proposal: € 1.50 per share
  • 2022 guidance issued

Amsterdam, 17 February 2022 – Airbus SE (stock exchange symbol: AIR) reported consolidated Full-Year (FY) 2021 financial results and provided guidance for 2022.

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  • February 21, 2022
Arianespace’s 13th Flight for OneWeb Successfully Deployed 34 Additional Satellites
Soyuz-2 rocket launches 34 OneWeb broadband satellites from the Guiana Space Center. (Credit: Copyright ESA-CNES-Arianespace/Optique Video du CSG – P Piron)
  • First Arianespace’s mission of 2022 and OneWeb’s thirteenth launch, Soyuz Flight VS27 successfully put 34 additional constellation satellites into a near-polar orbit.
  • In the course of 2022, Arianespace will continue to deploy OneWeb’s satellite network, which now comprises 428 satellites in low Earth orbit.

KOUROU, French Guiana (Arianespace PR) — Today’s launch, Flight VS27, was the first Arianespace’s mission of 2022 and the 340th launch overall for the Arianespace family of launchers Ariane, Soyuz and Vega. Performed on Thursday, February 10 at precisely 03:09 p.m. local time at Guiana Space Center (06:09 p.m. UTC), this mission orbited 34 OneWeb satellites bringing the size of the fleet in orbit to 428.

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  • February 10, 2022
Arianespace to Serve OneWeb’s Ambitions, will Orbit 34 Additional Satellites with Soyuz
Soyuz-2 launches 34 OneWeb satellites. (Credit: Arianespace)
  • After the successful launch of NASA’s Webb Space Telescope on December 25 with Ariane 5, Arianespace is back to the Guiana Space Center (CSG) with Soyuz for a February 10 lift-off.
  • The first Arianespace mission of the year will orbit 34 additional OneWeb satellites.
  • With this mission, Arianespace will exceed 100 satellites launched on Soyuz from the CSG, while OneWeb’s fleet will be brought to 428 satellites on Low Earth Orbit.

SINNAMARY, French Guiana (Arianespace PR) — Scheduled for February 10 at 03:09 p.m. local time (06:09 p.m. UTC), Arianespace’s Soyuz Flight VS27 will mark the European launch service provider’s first flight of the year. Performed from the Soyuz Launch Complex (ELS) at Sinnamary, French Guiana, Flight VS27 will put 34 of OneWeb’s satellites into a near-polar orbit at an altitude of 450 kilometers. The total duration of the mission will be 3 hours and 33 minutes and will include nine satellite separations, after which the satellites will subsequently raise themselves to their operational orbit.

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  • February 4, 2022