SAFRAN : Ariane 5 successfully launched from Kourou
April 27, 2015 at 06:01 am EDT
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26 April 2015 - The 222nd launch of the Ariane rocket has successfully placed two satellites in their geostationary transfer orbits, following lift off from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. It was the first Ariane rocket to be delivered to Arianespace by Airbus Safran Launchers, which has been the prime contractor for the Ariane 5 programme since January 2015.
"The 222nd Ariane launch marks the first success for the Airbus Safran Launchers teams, continuing the work they have been carrying out for more than 10 years at Airbus Defence and Space and Safran. These teams were brought together in January 2015 within Airbus Safran Launchers, the new prime contractor for Ariane 5 and future European launchers," said Alain Charmeau, CEO of Airbus Safran Launchers. "We would like to thank Arianespace and the space agencies involved in the Ariane 5 programme for placing their trust in us, enabling us to work smoothly during this transitional phase."
Marc Ventre, Chairman of the Airbus Safran Launchers Board of Directors, added: "I would also like to praise this first notable success since Airbus Safran Launchers was created at the beginning of the year on the initiative of the companies together with the support of the agencies and member states."
Airbus Safran Launchers has been the prime contractor for the Ariane 5 European launcher, one of the largest and most ambitious space programmes in the world, since January 2015. To this end, the company oversees an industrial network that brings together more than 550 companies (more than 20% of which are SMEs) in 12 European countries. Airbus Safran Launchers also manages the entire industrial supply chain, from the manufacture of equipment and stages to the complete integration of the launcher in French Guiana, in line with the customer's specifications. Representing cutting-edge European expertise, the Ariane 5 launcher has been specially designed to inject heavy payloads into orbit.
Ariane flight 222 in numbers
222nd Ariane launch
78th Ariane 5 launch
64th consecutive success for Ariane 5
1st Ariane 5 launch in 2015
1st Ariane rocket to be delivered to Arianespace that was assembled and tested under the responsibility of Airbus Safran Launchers, the prime contractor
22nd Ariane 5 ordered by Arianespace in March 2009 as part of the PB batch (of a total of 35 to cover the period from 2010-2016)
Safran is a high technology international group, a leading equipment provider in the Aerospace and Defense markets. The group specializes in the design, manufacturing, and marketing of equipment and systems of high technology mechanical and electronic equipment. Net sales break down by product family as follows:
- aeronautic and space propulsion systems (51.2%): helicopter motors (No. 1 worldwide), civil and military airplanes motors, systems for space lancers and missiles, turboreactors for drone targets, etc.;
- aircraft equipment, defense systems and aerosystems (38%): airplane engine pods, landing gear, braking systems, electric wiring systems, etc. Safran also offers on board aircraft systems and equipment (primarily evacuation slides, emergency arresting systems, protective parachutes and oxygen systems, electrical power management systems, control systems, water and waste management systems and connectivity systems) and defense and security systems (helicopter flight controls, fingerprint-based biometric identification systems (No. 1 worldwide), inertial systems, optronic systems, tactical drone systems, etc.);
- aircraft interiors (10.7%): cabin interiors and seats;
- other (0.1%).
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: France (19.4%), Europe (24%), the Americas (34.8%), Asia and Oceania (13.2%), Africa and the Middle East (8.6%).
SAFRAN 
