Swiss firm to participate in building of new Ariane rocket

An Ariane 5 satellite launcher takes off on a test flight Keystone Archive

A Zurich-based firm, Contraves Space, has won a contract to produce parts for the new Ariane 5 satellite launcher. The company is to build the outer casings of the rockets, which protects satellites during launch and the flight through the atmosphere.

Under the deal with Arianespace, Contraves Space is to produce eight payload fairings per year for the new Ariane 5 heavy-lift launcher. The satellites are due to be sent into orbit starting this summer.

The Zurich firm has a long history of links with European space programmes. It developed the payload fairings for the first European launch vehicle, Ariane 1, which took off on its maiden flight on December 24,1979.

Since then, it has built more than 130 payload fairings for all generations of Ariane rockets.

The key consideration is to strike a balance between weight, which must be kept to a minimum, and the protective properties of the casings.

The payload fairings for the new Ariane 5 launcher will consist of an aluminium core, with a honeycomb structure and carbon fibre reinforced plastic sheets. The thickness of the cores can be varied, as can the insulation, to minimise weight.

The payload fairings protect satellites during launch and the flight into orbit, and are jettisoned once the launcher has left the Earth’s atmosphere.

The Ariane 5 launcher has been described a high-tech mammoth because of the area it covers: 17 metres in height and five metres in diameter.

This summer, it will be used to launch the Astra 3a satellite, which will provide direct television coverage to Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The satellite has an in-orbit life of 10 years.

swissinfo