Five generations of Ariane rockets, from the Ariane 1 to the Ariane 5.

The head of Europe’s Arianespace launch consortium on May 12 said the company can beat competitor SpaceX in the open market with a euro/dollar exchange rate at today’s levels and the planned 5-6 percent reduction in Ariane 5 rocket production and launch costs.

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Peter B. de Selding was the Paris Bureau Chief for SpaceNews.