Posted: Wed, Jul 30, 2003, 9:27 AM ET (1327 GMT)
Three leading providers of commercial launch services announced Wednesday an agreement to provide mutual launch backups. Under the agreement customers with any of the three companies — Arianespace, Boeing Launch Services, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries — could move their payload from one company to another in the event of a launch delay. The agreement, first reported in June, covers the Ariane 5, Zenit 3SL, and H-2A boosters. Each company will retain the ability to individually market their boosters. The new alliance is not as far reaching as International Launch Services (ILS), which allows its customers to switch between the Atlas and Proton boosters as necessary; ILS provides a unified marketing apparatus that the new alliance does not have.

Related Links:

•  Arianespace press release
•  AFP article
•  Dow Jones Newswires article