Europe's Arianespace launch consortium on Sept. 8 said it had booked four new commercial telecommunications satellite contracts, all for relatively lightweight satellites that this year have become the market's favored satellite class. At a press briefing here during the World Satellite Business Week conference, organized by Euroconsult, Arianespace said the contracts illustrate the company's ability to win business in head-to-head competition with what has become its principal competitor, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and the Falcon 9 rocket. Individual satellite operators choose satellite and rocket suppliers using a range of criteria including schedule, price, recent launch record and export credit-agency financing.
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