Arianespace is a French launch solutions provider placing satellites in orbit for its customers. For over 40 years, they have carried out more than 350 satellite launches for all types of space missions including telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, scientific research, and technology demonstrations.
Arianespace specialises in a tailor-made approach with personalised support and a designated project manager for each mission. At the end of the campaign, customers can watch the live launch, complete with expert commentary in English, on the show Road to Space, organised by Arianespace’s communications team. The French audience can enjoy the show too, through interpreting.
To understand Arianespace’s unique interpreting requirements, we talked to Communications Project Manager Damien Valade. He shared his thoughts on the challenges of live interpretating and how LanguageWire’s quality services, easy pricing model, and single point of contact helped solve them.
The challenge: Inconsistent interpreting quality and inconvenient processes
In 2021, when Damien Valade first joined Arianespace, the communications team faced significant challenges with their Road to Space show.
Hosted by a presenter and a launch expert, the show provides live coverage of each launch in English. However, the show must offer live French interpreting as well, to cater to its French viewers.
Arianespace had to work with two or more agencies at any given point because no one agency could meet all their needs.
One issue with this arrangement was the managerial workload associated with having several points of contact. Each new interpreting project would need scoping, pricing, and approval.
Another was an inconsistency in vocabulary. Different agencies would have different ways of working, experience, and vocabulary, resulting in incorrect or inconsistent terminology. The space industry operates with highly specific terminology, and incorrect use can cause confusion at best and distrust at worst.
To complicate matters for the audience, the interpreters would take turns – interpreting for 20 minutes at a time regardless of who was speaking on the show – making it unclear what was said by the presenter and expert respectively.
“It would undermine the work of our experts, and the team behind. You need to be trusted.”
Recognising the importance of solving these pain points, Damien set out to find an alternative.
The solution: a one-stop-shop interpreting solution offering consistency and a consideration for industry-specific vocabulary
Finding an agency that ticked all Arianespace’s boxes proved challenging. That was until they found LanguageWire.
LanguageWire addressed all Arianespace’s challenges – from inconsistent quality to difficulty managing multiple agencies - offering a neatly packaged tailored solution that included:
A long-term relationship with highly skilled, reliable interpreters who considered the unique vocabulary of the space industry
A custom solution with a single point of contact and tailored pricing grid so they always knew the scope regardless of the circumstances.
“LanguageWire is my one-stop shop for interpreting”.
Arianespace was assigned a point of contact from LanguageWire who tailored a solution of interpreting services and pricing for their specific requirements.
This easy pricing structure and single point of contact meant Arianespace now always knows the exact scope of a project without having to navigate multiple agencies, complicated pricing models, or new interpreters.
“Whether the launch happens in the middle of the night or during the day, if it's postponed two weeks before - or two days before - I know exactly what the pricing will be. I never need to reevaluate the whole cost of the show. I can go directly to my management with the price.”
In 2021, Arianespace was assigned two LanguageWire interpreters. They have been working together ever since. This long-term relationship offers a rare opportunity to train the interpreters in the specialised vocabulary of the space industry.
Being able to train them on-site made it easier to build a glossary of unique industry vocabulary - together. Over the years, the interpreters have expanded this glossary. As a result, Arianespace can now present themselves as the expert voice that they are.
From the interpreters’ home studio, their voices appear crisp and clear to anyone listening in. High-quality audio is essential to support Arianespace’s image as a professional and expert launch provider, and with LanguageWire, they never have to worry about it.
“For cost reasons, it was better for us to have them interpreting from their homes and they did it beautifully. If the sound was not good, you know, they would find another mic. They always made sure their connection was great.”
The Arianespace communications team can always count on the interpreters to step in and do the job. If they are not available, they can name a colleague who could replace them.
“LanguageWire’s interpreters have been 100% into it. They never let go of a mission with us.”
And the solution with LanguageWire is scalable. The long-term nature of the relationship between Arianespace and the LanguageWire interpreters forms a foundation on which they can easily expand into other markets. With the assistance of the existing French interpreters, the onboarding process of a new Italian interpreter has been seamless.
The result: Clarity and trust
Once the work began, Arianespace started realising the benefits of working with LanguageWire:
1. Streamlined project management
A single point of contact to decrease managerial work and improve consistency: reliable interpreters who could always step in with professional equipment meant Arianespace could let go and trust them to do their job.
2. Improved interpretation quality
Working with the same two interpreters, training them on-site, and building a glossary together with them meant that the quality of interpretations improved.
3. Greater trust in Arianespace’s expertise
With improved interpretation quality, Arianespace now inspires greater trust and has improved clarity for its show's audience.
“LanguageWire means reliability, and comfort.”
Interpreting quality to match your expertise
Arianespace used LanguageWire’s live interpreting services to elevate the quality of French interpretation for their Road to Space show, ensuring it reflected the high level of expertise they wanted to convey. By working with the same interpreters over time, they developed a highly specialised industry glossary. With a single point of contact and a clear, predictable pricing structure, they could easily scope each project and reduce managerial workload.
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