Ariane is less costly than the space shuttle

Abstract

'Ariadne', the European rocket, was found to be less costly than the American space shuttle, judging by the price proposals sent to Intelsat for the orbiting of its three latest telecommunications satellites in the Intelsat 5 series. The 'Ariadne' is being offered by the ESA and CNES at a ceiling price of $20 million, while the shuttle is priced by NASA at $22.5 million under the same condition. Neither the U. S. nor ESA have endorsed these prices officially. They are being presented as estimates. The 'Ariadne' has a ceiling price, which can only be adjusted downwards, if need be. The launching prices of both of these spacecraft do not include the cost of adapting the Intelsat 5 satellites, designed for the Atlas Centaur rocket.