Arianegroup SAS

Arianegroup SAS, a foreign-owned manufacturer of spacecraft propulsion and aerospace components, operates exclusively as a subcontractor on NASA Space Launch System (SLS) programs, with four federal sub awards totaling $33.8 million obligated across the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Marshall Space Flight Center since September 2021. The vendor holds no prime contracts or IDV seats and does not compete directly for federal work; all revenue flows through Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc., the prime contractor on the SLS booster and upper-stage engine efforts.

Arianegroup's federal footprint is narrow and specialized. The vendor supplies RL10C-3 upper-stage flight engines and associated vehicle and program integration support, flight support, and human-rating compliance review services to support SLS Exploration Missions 2 and 3 (EM-2 and EM-3). Two sub awards dated February 2024 and April 2025 procure ten RL10 flight engines (four per mission cluster, plus two spares) and their supporting services; two earlier sub awards from May 2023 and September 2021 address energetic bulk and finished propellant supply under the SLS Booster Production and Operations Contract (BPOC). Work is classified across two NAICS categories — Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Propulsion Unit and Propulsion Unit Parts Manufacturing (two awards) and Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (two awards) — reflecting the dual propellant and engine-subsystem nature of the engagement.

Activity is flat: one sub award per year across 2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025. Customer concentration is absolute — all four awards fund NASA MSFC SLS programs, with no secondary agency exposure. As a foreign-owned subcontractor with no direct federal contracting authority, Arianegroup's competitive posture is defined entirely by its role as an engine and propellant supplier to Aerojet Rocketdyne on a multi-year human spaceflight program; the vendor does not bid, team, or carry its own contract vehicles.