Stéphane Israël, executive president of Arianespace, was the guest of “8:30 am franceinfo”, Saturday April 8, 2023. Military programming law, inflation, Ariane 6 and probe to Jupiter… He answers questions from Lorrain Sénéchal and Neïla Latrous.
Military programming law: “I welcome this increased effort by France”
“I salute this increased effort by France“, reacted Stéphane Israel, when the military programming law was presented this week: 413 billion euros over seven years, including six billion devoted to strengthening France in space.
“Military space is secure telecommunications, observation of the Earth from space, means of listening. It will increasingly be knowledge of what is happening in space and the means of intervention in space. Space is also a military space, there is a command, it is one of the components of our armies today.”
Inflation and space: “We are asking for public commitments”
“Our manufacturers who build Ariane 5 and Ariane 6 have costs linked to inflation. We are having discussions with the public authorities to see how they can help us cover these costs.“, explained Stéphane Israel.
The cost of an Ariane rocket “can be up to $200 million“Stéphane Israël insists on the importance of”mobilize in Europe for an industrial policy.“Arianespace is producing the Ariane 6 rocket.”It is produced in 12 countries in Europe and there is inflation throughout Europe and therefore a drift in costs. We ask for public commitments.”
Stéphane Israel highlights the fact that in the United States “billions are spent on space“. “We are asking for our rockets, in the long term, the construction of a public-private partnership, and we must cover the economic problem of inflation.”
Sending a probe to Jupiter: “This is the first European mission to Jupiter”
“It is the first European mission to Jupiter, it is approximately 600 million kilometers from Earth“, explained Stéphane Israel.
“This probe will leave on April 13 and will arrive at the icy moons of Jupiter in July 2031. It will try to see if there is water and oceans under the crust of these moons. This will allow us to better understand the origins of life, of these planets. She will observe the system of Jupiter, the Jovian system (which includes the gas giant planet Jupiter and all the objects located in its sphere of influence) which will allow us to better understand our solar system.”
Ariane 6: “The maiden flight is scheduled before the end of the year”
“The maiden flight of Ariane 6 is scheduled before the end of the year“, said Stéphane Israel. “There are a number of milestones to be reached, we will monitor their behavior to tell you how we are meeting this end of the year objective..”
Ariane 6 will take over from Ariane 5 and will carry France’s third optical satellite. She will have “several advantages. There is a small Ariane 6 and a big Ariane 6, whereas Ariane 5 could only be produced in its big version. “As the engine of the upper stage can be restarted, this will allow more complex missions to be carried out in orbit“Ariane 6 will cost less to produce than Ariane 5,”about 40% less.”
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Find the full “8h30 franceinfo” from Saturday April 8, 2023: