France in Space No. 190 11 Jan 2002
** 1 : THE FRENCH SPACE TOOL TO HELP DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
CNES (French Space Agency), Institut Pasteur (whose mission is the
prevention and fight against infectious diseases), ” MŽdecins du Monde ”
(World doctors), ” Douleur sans Frontire ” (Pain without boundaries), ”
Formation Professionnelle DŽveloppement ” (Professional Training
Development), and ” SantŽ, Pathologie-Cytologie et DŽveloppement ” (Health,
Pathology-Cytology and Development) have signed an agreement creating a new
non-profitable operational health structure: LEDA (Liaison, Education,
Diagnostic and Assistance). The objective of LEDA, spurred on by the French
Ministry of Research, is to adapt CNES’s modern telecommunication means to
help develop health care skills and infrastructures in developing
countries. As of February 2002, health specialists in developing countries
will be able to communicate with medical experts to access databases via
the Internet and remotely receive interactive support for medical diagnostic.
[CNES Press Release, 12/21/2001]
** 2: ASTRIUM WILL TO THE HISPASAT SATELLITE, AMAZONAS
At the last Board of Directors meeting held on December 20, 2001, Astrium,
following an international competition, was entrusted the building of
Hispasat’s most powerful satellite : Amazonas. With 51 transponders and a
mass of 4.5 tons, it will provide TV broadcasting, business services
including VSAT and data broadcasting, to Brazil, North and South America,
and a transatlantic link to Europe. The overall Hispasat investment for the
project would be in the order of 300 million euros. Hispasat is the fourth
major operator to order a Eurostar E3000 satellite. This satellite is a
full chemical propulsion spacecraft equipped with Lithium-ion batteries and
compatible with all major commercial launchers. Astrium is a Joint-Venture
75% EADS owned (European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company) and 25% BAE
SYSTEMS owned. EADS is the largest European aerospace company and number 2
worldwide.
[EADS Press Release and Astrium, 01/07/2002, LesEchos, 01/09/2002]
** 3: ARIANESPACE, LEADER IN 2001, READY TO CHALLENGE THE NEW YEAR
In 2001, Arianespace maintained its commercial leadership in space
transportation. The company won 13 launch services contracts out of a total
of 25 signed worldwide last year. Arianespace also performed 8 launches
that carried 11 of the 16 geostationnary satellites, which commercially
competed for launches in 2001. Arianespace managed to limit the income loss
for 2001 to 50 million euros versus 242 million euros in 2000. Arianespace
is planning at least 12 launches in 2002, including five for Ariane 5. The
schedule will depend on the availability of customer satellites. The next
launch of an Ariane 5 is scheduled for the end of February. A major
milestone for mid-2002 will be the introduction of the ESC-A cryogenic
upper stage in the Ariane system launch, which will increase Ariane 5’s GTO
payload capacity to 10 metric tons. The next mission is scheduled for
January 23. An Ariane 4 will launch Insat 3C, a telecommunication satellite
for the Indian Space Agency (ISRO).
[Arianespace Press Release and AFP, 01/07/2001, LesEchos, 01/09/2001]
** 4: IN BRIEF
On December 20, Pascale Sourisse was appointed President of Alcatel’s space
activities. She also took over Jean-Claude Husson as President and CEO of
Alcatel Space and Alcatel Space Industries. Pascale Sourisse will oversee
Alcatel’s space activities, which include the development of satellite
technology solutions for telecommunications, navigation, optical and radar
observation, meteorology, and scientific applications [Alcatel,
12/20/2001]. Almost six months after his arrival as Chairman & CEO of Spot
Image, Jean-Marc Nasr has announced the appointment of Jean-Michel Darroy
to the post of Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the company. Darroy will be
responsible for overseeing all the operational processes. The new COO
position will help to adapt the organization and structure of the company
to the arrival of Spot 5, scheduled for launch in April 2002, and to
prepare the evolution of Spot Image activities [Spot Image and AFP,
01/07/2001].
[From Agence France Presse (AFP), Alcatel Press Release (ALCATEL),
Arianespace Press Release, Astrium Press Release (Astrium), CNES Press
Release, EADS Press Release, Les Echos, Spot Image Press Release (Spot Image)]
