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Near the town of Brest, in Finistère, the ArianeGroup teams carry out final preparation of the M51 ballistic missiles and load them on-board the nuclear ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) of the French Strategic Oceanic Force (FOST) and the French navy. ArianeGroup is present on two nearby sites: Guenvenez, where the missiles are assembled, checked and stored, and l’Île Longue, where the teams carry out their final preparation and then load them on-board the SSBNs. ArianeGroup is also responsible there for 24/7 operational maintenance of the M51 weapons system on-board the submarines, as well as of its shore and on-board logistical resources.

At its Le Haillan site in the Gironde, ArianeGroup designs and produces solid fuel engines and their main components, such as nozzles, for the civil and military launchers for which it is lead contractor. The Le Haillan site is also recognised for its expertise in the development and production of high-temperature, or thermo-structural, carbon- or ceramic-based composite materials, for space and defence applications. These composite materials also have applications in other industrial sectors, such as aeronautics. Finally, ArianeGroup operates the Candale site, attached to the Le Haillan site, which carries out integration and assembly of the engines for the M51 missile stages, their preparation for fuel loading (on the Saint-Médard-en-Jalles Centre site) and finally, their storage in shafts and end-of-life decommissioning operations.

At its main Ile-de-France site of Les Mureaux near Paris, ArianeGroup manages the main civil and defence launcher development programs. ArianeGroup has powerful computing and digital simulation resources on this site. It also has considerable production resources for machining, forming and welding large-sized parts, as well as surface treatment, testing and inspection facilities. This site notably produces metal structures for the Ariane 6 launcher and M51 ballistic missile. The final assembly line for the Ariane 6 cryogenic main stage is located here, along with that for the Themis reusable stage demonstrator. Les Mureaux also houses the command and control centre (C2) for ArianeGroup’s Helix global space surveillance network. It is also the ArianeGroup headquarters. Finally, ArianeGroup manages a site (Secoia) dedicated to the destruction of chemical weapons from World War I, located in Mailly-le-Camp and attached to the Les Mureaux site.

At its Saint-Médard-en-Jalles site in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, ArianeGroup carries out fuelling of the M51 ballistic missiles for France’s Strategic Oceanic Force (FOST). It also decommissions and depollutes end-of-life missiles using an innovative biological process to treat pyrotechnic and toxic waste. Finally, the site transforms the ammonium perchlorate needed for the M51’s solid fuel propellant. Lastly, in Sainte-Hélène, west of Bordeaux, ArianeGroup has a site attached to that of Saint-Médard-en-Jalles Centre, which processes and stores the ammonium perchlorate.

At this site in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, ArianeGroup develops and integrates the solid fuel propellant stages for the military launchers for which it is lead contractor, including the M51 ballistic missile. This site, in the Issac district of Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, also specialises in the design and implementation of high-performance wound and woven composite materials. Here, ArianeGroup designs and builds high-pressure tanks for satellites and space launchers, thermal protection systems and cabling for civil and military launchers, along with atmospheric re-entry heat shields for space probes. It has extensive non-destructive testing (NDT) and inspection facilities, plus an engineering hub specialising in ground resources and critical infrastructures. Finally, on this site, ArianeGroup houses the teams which design and build the telescopes for the space observation stations making up its Helix network. ArianeGroup also has an office attached to the Issac site within the missile testing range of the French defence procurement and technology agency (DGA-EM) in Biscarrosse, where the teams are notably the industrial lead contractor for the installations of the Ballistic Launch Base (BLB) and are responsible for preparing launches of experimental missiles on behalf of the French defence procurement and technology agency (DGA).

At this Haute-Garonne site, ArianeGroup develops and produces ammonium perchlorate, the main component of the propellant intended for the solid fuel engines of space and military launchers, such as Ariane 6 and the M51 ballistic missile. The Toulouse site specialises in synthesising the raw materials for space applications, such as the high-purity monomethylhydrazine (MMH) used by satellite and spacecraft liquid fuel engines. The site also produces numerous substances for civil and defence markets and which meet extremely specific requirements: propulsion additives, catalysts, phenolic resins, etc.

At Vernon in Normandy ArianeGroup designs, integrates and tests all its cryogenic space launcher engines, including the Vulcain 2.1 and Vinci liquid oxygen and hydrogen engines for Ariane 6. The site specialises in cryogenic propellants such as liquid hydrogen, oxygen and methane. The Prometheus® reusable engine (liquid oxygen-methane), primarily built using 3D printing, is developed and produced here. The site houses Europe’s largest test centre for liquid propellant propulsion systems, comprising engine and component test stands. ArianeGroup also makes its know-how available to specialist start-ups in the space sector and offers its liquid hydrogen expertise for the development of decarbonised technologies, in particular for heavy-duty aeronautical, naval and road mobility. Finally, the development and some of the testing of the Maia reusable mini-launcher developed by MaiaSpace, an ArianeGroup subsidiary, are carried out at this site.

The Le Bouchet Research Centre (CRB), at the Vert-le-Petit site (Essonne), is Europe’s only centre of excellence in the field of energetic materials. It is home to experts in the development of new molecules and innovative energetic materials for solid propulsion for launchers and missiles and for pyrotechnic systems. The CRB also proposes services in the field of fire resistance testing, modelling and digital simulation of materials.

This site, located on the outskirts of the Hanseatic city of Bremen in north-west Germany, has specialised in the development and manufacture of the upper stage of the Ariane launchers since the start of the programme. Its experts are responsible for the design, development and final integration of the Ariane 6 upper stage. They are also developing the Astris Kick Stage, an additional upper stage powered by the future reignitable bi-propellant engine called Berta, which will further enhance Ariane 6’s versatility. The Bremen site also produces metal tanks for the orbital propulsion systems.

At Lampoldshausen, in Baden-Württemberg, ArianeGroup operates a European centre of excellence for the development and production of propulsion systems for satellites, spacecraft and orbital platforms. It designs and produces propulsion systems and single and bi-propellant electrical and chemical engines, along with high-precision components for satellite and launcher attitude and orbit control systems (AOCS). The site also provides services such as satellite propellant refuelling.

In Bavaria, near Munich, the Ottobrunn site is ArianeGroup’s European centre of excellence for the development and production of space engine combustion chambers for launchers or satellites. The combustion chambers for Ariane 6’s liquid propulsion engines – Vulcain 2.1 and Vinci – are built here, along with that of the Prometheus® reusable engine. The site is also a centre of excellence for 3D printing and the production of cryogenic valves.

The Trauen site in Lower Saxony is a European centre of excellence for the production of extremely pure hydrazine for satellite and spacecraft engines and for gas generators. The site is home to Europe’s only hydrazine transformation plant. The ArianeGroup teams at Trauen also develop and build the RESUS submarine emergency buoyancy and rescue system, used by navies around the world.

In the various installations of the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG), Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, ArianeGroup integrates Ariane 6 and conducts the launch campaigns. This notably involves the assembly of the two cryogenic stages to form the launcher’s central core, which is then integrated on the launch pad with the boosters, for which the ArianeGroup teams also carry out final integration. These boosters are assembled and loaded with propellant on the CSG site by the Europropulsion and Regulus joint-ventures. The upper composite, consisting of the fairing and the payloads, is prepared by the teams from Arianespace, an ArianeGroup subsidiary, and then installed on the launcher. Once the final countdown is completed, ArianeGroup delivers the flight-ready launcher to Arianespace at the moment of lift-off (H0). Arianespace then runs the mission as operator and launch services provider. The site also houses a chemistry laboratory and extensive pyrotechnic storage facilities, notably for the boosters.