Echostar signs a multi-satellite deal using the Ariane 5 rocket.
The competition heats up: Echostar signs a multi-satellite deal using the Ariane 5 rocket.
Several points:
- This is good news for Arianespace, as it gives them a long-term and very reliable customer at just the moment many people, including myself, thought they’d have difficulty selling Ariane 5 to anyone in the coming years. With this deal in hand, they might be able to keep the rocket afloat long enough to find a way to lower its costs and make it more competitive.
- This is bad news for ILS and the Russian Proton rocket. They have lost a loyal customer. And the reason is probably related to their two recent launch failures as well as other quality control failures. Echostar likely looked at these problems and compared them with Ariane 5’s near perfect launch record, with 52 successful launches in a row.
- Overally, however, this is great news for the increasingly competitive launch market. Not only does it keep Arianespace alive, it puts increased pressure on the Russians to find a way to lower their costs, improve their reliability, and thus compete with both the Ariane 5 and SpaceX’s Falcon 9. See for example this story about how the Russians plan on reorganizing their industry.
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The competition heats up: Echostar signs a multi-satellite deal using the Ariane 5 rocket.
Several points:
- This is good news for Arianespace, as it gives them a long-term and very reliable customer at just the moment many people, including myself, thought they’d have difficulty selling Ariane 5 to anyone in the coming years. With this deal in hand, they might be able to keep the rocket afloat long enough to find a way to lower its costs and make it more competitive.
- This is bad news for ILS and the Russian Proton rocket. They have lost a loyal customer. And the reason is probably related to their two recent launch failures as well as other quality control failures. Echostar likely looked at these problems and compared them with Ariane 5’s near perfect launch record, with 52 successful launches in a row.
- Overally, however, this is great news for the increasingly competitive launch market. Not only does it keep Arianespace alive, it puts increased pressure on the Russians to find a way to lower their costs, improve their reliability, and thus compete with both the Ariane 5 and SpaceX’s Falcon 9. See for example this story about how the Russians plan on reorganizing their industry.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
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