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Six Astrium satellites launched in a month

37th consecutive successful launch under Astrium‘s prime contractorship

Kourou, 26 June 2010

Following the second successful Ariane 5 launch this year – six satellites built by Astrium have now been launched within a month: COMSATBw-2 and ASTRA 3B on 21 May, Arabsat 5B by a Proton launcher on 4 June, TanDEM-X by Dnepr on 21 June and now Arabsat 5A and COMS by Ariane 5 tonight.

The six satellites include three commercial communications satellites (Arabsat 5A & 5B, and ASTRA 3B), a military communications satellite (COMSATBw-2) and two Earth observation satellites (COMS for meteorological and oceanographic applications and TanDEM-X for 3D mapping of the Earth).

"It's been a historic month for Astrium," declared the company's CEO François Auque.
"These six satellites and this 37th consecutive successful launch demonstrate the unique services offered by Astrium: reliable technology, the close relationship with our customers and a tremendous capacity to innovate. We work with the major commercial telecommunications operators and have demonstrated our skills in public-private partnerships with government institutions. We are also the only satellite manufacturer to export observation satellites. In a period of worldwide economic uncertainty, we have successfully adapted by making our customers convincing offers—not just state-of-the-art technology, but also the accompanying services and financial solutions they need. The string of successes this past month has shown how well targeted our strategy is, as we have become the point of reference in Europe's space industry."
About Astrium

Astrium, a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, is dedicated to providing civil and defence space systems and services. In 2009, Astrium had a turnover of €4.8 billion and more than 15,000 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands. Its three main areas of activity are Astrium Space Transportation for launchers and orbital infrastructure, Astrium Satellites for spacecraft and ground segment and Astrium Services for the development and provision of secure and commercial satcoms and networks, high security satellite communications equipment, geo-information products and services, and navigation services.

EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2009, EADS generated revenues of €42.8 billion and employed a workforce of more than 119, 000.

Contacts for the media
Matthieu Duvelleroy
EADS Astrium (FR)
Tel.: +33 (0) 1 77 75 80 32

Daniel Mosely
EADS Astrium (UK)
Tel.: +44 (0)1 438 77 8180

Ralph Heinrich
EADS Astrium (GER)
Tel.: +49 (0) 89 607 33971

Francisco Lechón
EADS Astrium (ESP)
Tel.: +34 (0) 91 586 37 41