Six Astrium Satellites Launched In A Month

Following the second successful Ariane 5 launch this year - six satellites built by Astrium have now been launched within a month: COMSATBw-2 and ASTRA 3B on 21 May, Arabsat 5B by a Proton launcher on 4 June, TanDEM-X by Dnepr on 21 June and now Arabsat 5A and COMS by Ariane 5 tonight.
 
The six satellites include three commercial communications satellites (Arabsat 5A and 5B, and ASTRA 3B), a military communications satellite (COMSATBw-2) and two Earth observation satellites (COMS for meteorological and oceanographic applications and TanDEM-X for 3D mapping of the Earth).
 
The company's CEO François Auque declared: "It's been a historic month for Astrium. These six satellites and this 37th consecutive successful launch demonstrate the unique services offered by Astrium: reliable technology, the close relationship with our customers and a tremendous capacity to innovate. We work with the major commercial telecommunications operators and have demonstrated our skills in public-private partnerships with government institutions. We are also the only satellite manufacturer to export observation satellites. In a period of worldwide economic uncertainty, we have successfully adapted by making our customers convincing offers-not just state-of-the-art technology, but also the accompanying services and financial solutions they need. The string of successes this past month has shown how well targeted our strategy is, as we have become the point of reference in Europe's space industry."