As of 2016, ArianeGroup's principal sites are located in Issy-les-Moulineaux, Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, Kourou (space center), Vernon, Le Haillan and Les Mureaux in France as well as Lampoldshausen, Bremen and Ottobrunn in Germany.

[6] The formation of ArianeGroup is closely connected to both the development of the Ariane 6 heavy-lift launcher during the 2010s, as well as the space manufacturing aligned interests of two European aerospace companies, Airbus and Safran.

During June 2014, Airbus and Safran approached the European Space Agency (ESA) with its own proposal for the Ariane 6 programme, the establishment of a 50/50 joint venture to develop the rocket, which would also involve buying out the French government's CNES interest in Arianespace.

[9] At the time of formation, ArianeGroup's principal sites were Issy-les-Moulineaux, Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, Kourou (space center), Vernon, Le Haillan and Les Mureaux in France as well as Lampoldshausen, Bremen and Ottobrunn in Germany.

[6][non-primary source needed] In mid 2014, the joint venture partners named Alain Charmeau as its CEO and Marc Ventre as the Chairman of the Board.

[10] The reorganization of a major portion of Europe's space industry, which led to the creation of ArianeGroup, generated both close scrutiny and a level of controversy.

[13][needs update] As of 2018[update], Alain Charmeau remained as chair of ArianeGroup, and the group was producing three existing rockets: the Ariane 5, Vega, and a European version of the Russian Soyuz, while pursuing development of the Ariane 6, and building a massive new launch pad facility at the Guiana Space Centre.

"[15] The joint operation was to have a more flexible working environment than traditional Ariane projects, and was intended to explicitly be open to "new players and internationally.

[15] In the event, the ESA contracted with ArianeGroup in December 2020 to build the Themis resusable rocket stage demonstrator, and provided an initial €33 million for the first development phase.

[20] In addition to the Ariane heavy-lift launcher, Arianespace also has a portfolio of smaller launch vehicles, including the Soyuz-2 as a medium-lift alternative, and the solid-fueled Vega for lighter payloads.

[22][23][24] On 12 August 2015, the European Space Agency (ESA) appointed Airbus Safran Launchers as the principal contractor with the new development of the Ariane 6.