Table of Acronymes 2 Executive sumury 2 1. Introduction 3 1.1. Characteristics of the industry 3 1.2. Arianespace Company and Ariane 5 3 1.1. Arianespace Strategy 5 2. Launcher building process: a fix position layout 6 2.1. The Babel tower of suppliers 6 2.2. The supply chain structure during the different steps of the process 8 3. Innovation 9 3.1. Process and product innovation 9 3.2. An open innovation opportunity 9 3.3. The dilemma of inovation 9 3.4. Ariane 6? 11 References 12
1. Introduction
2.1. Characteristics of the industry
Historically the Space Industry is strongly related to the Aeronautic Industry. However, it differs by the type of product and the market. Its main actors are either company which are only dealing with spatial industry, like Space X, or aeronautics’ company that have a space industry branch like EADS or Boeing, and defence company like Thales.
This industry is also differencing itself by the quality of the products that are responding to strict norms to deal with the very binding spatial environment. The products have to be space qualified. We already find a high quality in aeronautic industry regarding the responsibility for safety for transporting people. But spatial equipment has to be even more reliable since nothing can be fixed when it is out there, there is no “space breakdown mechanic”. Indeed, the impracticability to work in space rise the demand of reliability which challenge the technology and therefore increase the financial input. Those huge financial and technological difficulties make it a quasi-monopolies industry supported by governments. This industry includes the satellite manufacturing the support ground equipment manufacturing, and the launch industry which we will focus on.
2.2. Arianespace Company and Ariane 5
Our study will focus the supply chain of Arianespace European Company for their conception of the launcher Ariane