By Stephanie Dwilson | 2025-08-22

Founded in 1980, following the European Space Agency's successful launch of the Ariane 1 rocket at the end of the previous year, Arianespace has risen to become one of the biggest names in the commercial rocket industry.

It now accounts for more than 50% of the global market for commercial rocket launches, with accomplishments that include headline-grabbing events such as the Ariane 5 rocket's 2021 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope.

In August, Arianespace's Ariane 6 rocket launched MetOp-SGA1 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana (Guiana Space Center), successfully delivering the EUMETSAT weather and climate satellite into a sun-synchronous orbit.

The satellite will gather weather and climate data for the next 7.5 years.

But how did Arianespace rise to such prominence? And where is it heading next?

In 1965, France became the world’s third space power after launching the Diamant A rocket, continuing its success with the launch, in 1970, of Diamant B.

Over the ensuing years, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and several other European nations collaborated to develop the Europa rocket, a civilian satellite launcher.

The project, carried out under the auspices of the European Launcher Development Organization (ELDO), was scrapped in 1973.

But in 1975, the ELDO merged with the European Space Research Organization (ESRO) to form the European Space Agency (ESA).

This collaboration produced the Ariane 1 rocket, a three-stage launcher capable of placing an approximately one-ton satellite into a geostationary orbit.

Arianespace launches

After Ariane 1's successful launch at the end of 1979, the ESA founded Arianespace in 1980 with the purpose of producing, marketing and operating Ariane launchers.

Arianespace went on to oversee a string of successful missions and rocket designs, including Ariane 5, which launched all five of the International Space Station’s ATV supply ships between 2008 and 2014, and its successor, Ariane 6.

To date, the France-based company has placed more than 1,100 satellites into orbit.

In January 2015, Airbus and Safran formed a joint venture to merge their civil and defense space launcher operations. Originally called Airbus Safran Launchers (ASL), the ESA tasked this venture with developing Ariane 6.

ASL soon acquired a 75% ownership stake in Arianespace, and in 2017, ASL changed its name to ArianeGroup.

Arianespace remains as a subsidiary of ArianeGroup, serving as its commercial launch service provider, while ArianeGroup works closely with both governmental agencies and industrial partners.

ArianeGroup's focus includes civil and military telecommunications, navigation, environmental protection, scientific and technical advances, and space surveillance, according to its website.

Roaring into the future

Arianespace remains a giant in the industry, and is still making headlines and demonstrating its versatility with its newest heavy-lift launcher, Ariane 6.

In addition to its August 12 launch of the 8,900-pound Metop-SGA1 weather satellite into space, Ariane 6 launched a French military satellite into orbit in March.

Three more Ariane 6 launches are slated to take place in 2025, with Arianespace CEO David Cavaillolès reaffirming those plans in June, The Space Review reported, although a firm schedule has not been announced.

More than five Ariane 6 launches are planned for 2026, Cavaillolès said at the time, with a goal of getting to 10 launches a year "as soon as possible."

The 2025 manifest includes the first flight of the Ariane 64, "the version of the Ariane 6 with four strap-on solid rocket boosters," per The Space Review.

"Getting the Ariane 64 flying is critical for Arianespace’s largest customer, Amazon, which has booked 18 flights of that rocket for deploying part of its Project Kuiper broadband constellation," it added.