RUAG Aerospace Sweden has been a supplier to the Ariane program since its very beginning and, due to the commercial success of the vehicle, a new batch of equipment has been ordered for an additional 35 missions.
RUAG Aerospace will, under the contracts, deliver adapters and separation systems directly to the launcher operator Arianespace and will also deliver guidance computers and telemetry antennas to Astrium Space Transportation. RUAG Aerospace started developing its separation system technology in 1978. The first product was a separation mechanism for the dual-satellite launch structure SYLDA on Ariane 4. A modular adapter system enables fitting most satellite types to all commercial launchers on the market and the key component of the systems, the Clamp-Band Opening Device, the CBOD, offers very low separation shock levels to the benefit of satellite mechanical design.
Reliable and fault-tolerant computers and computer system solutions is the backbone of RUAG Aerospace in Sweden. The first computer design dubbed OBC1, developed 1973-1975, was used in Ariane-1, -2, and -3 and also found use in EXOSAT, one of the earlier ESA science missions. Today, two computers working in hot redundancy side-by-side make sure that the Ariane-5 launcher fulfils its mission. Telemetry antennas are another element of RUAG Aerospace contributions to Ariane. Wide-coverage antennas from the company serve numerous missions in all sorts of applications from scientific satellites and earth observation satellites to commercial telecommunication satellites. The development programs for European independent access to space are funded by the European Space Agency on behalf of its member states. Arianespace is marketing and operating the launch capacity commercially. Ariane-5 is since many years the reliable workhorse for placing both commercial and scientific payloads in orbit. ASTRIUM is the Ariane 5 Launcher system industrial prime contractor.
