Telespazio has selected Arianespace to launch Sicral 2 within the framework of a turnkey contract the Italian Defense Ministry and the French DGA armament agency (Direction Générale de lArmement) have with Thales Alenia Space Italy. A heavy-lift Ariane 5 is scheduled to launch this spacecraft – which will weigh approximately 4,400 kg. – from the Spaceport in French Guiana as of November 2013. Since the beginning of the year, Arianespace has signed 11 launch contracts for geostationary satellites, along with six dedicated Soyuz launches.