Final Ariane 5 rocket launches pair of satellites from French Guiana

7,549 views Jul 5, 2023

The last Ariane 5 rocket launched the Heinrich-Hertz-Satellit and Syracuse 4B satellites from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana on July 5, 2023. The Ariane 6 will take over heavy-lift launches for Arianespace. Full Story: https://www.space.com/ariane-5-rocket...

 

Farewell, Ariane 5! Europe's workhorse rocket launches 2 satellites on final mission (video)

By Josh Dinner

 published about 18 hours ago

After 27 years of service, Europe's venerable heavy lifter has rocketed into retirement.

"...The two-stage rocket was operated by Arianespace for ESA and CNES, the French space agency, and was built by Airbus Defence and Space. The Ariane 5 has gone through a handful of upgrades and has flown in five different configurations. The most recent versions, the Ariane 5 EC/A and ES, began operation in 2009. The predecessor design, the Ariane G5, launched from 2005 to 2009, after succeeding the short-lived G+ version, which launched three missions in 2004, and the premiere Ariane 5 G prior to that. 
Ariane 5 first launched in 1996 but failed to reach orbit on that debut, initiating an auto-destruct abort mid-flight. After that initial failure, the rocket became one of the world's most reliable launchers. Of Ariane 5's 117 missions and 239 payloads delivered to orbit, the launch vehicle has performed at a 96% success rate, according to ESA.  
Development of the Ariane 5's replacement, the Ariane 6, has been proceeding for more than a decade. "Ariane 6 is a new launcher system, which will be more flexible, cost-efficient and serve more types of launches compared to Ariane 5," said an ESA representative. Europe’s new rocket will be designed to fly in two configurations, A62 and A64, which carry two and four solid rocket boosters, respectively.  

The European Ariane-5 heavy rocket lifts off from the Guyanese Space Center in Kourou, French Guyana on July 5, 2023. (Image credit: JODY AMIET/AFP via Getty Images)

Ariane 5 first launched in 1996 but failed to reach orbit on that debut, initiating an auto-destruct abort mid-flight. After that initial failure, the rocket became one of the world's most reliable launchers. Of Ariane 5's 117 missions and 239 payloads delivered to orbit, the launch vehicle has performed at a 96% success rate, according to ESA.  

Development of the Ariane 5's replacement, the Ariane 6, has been proceeding for more than a decade. "Ariane 6 is a new launcher system, which will be more flexible, cost-efficient and serve more types of launches compared to Ariane 5," said an ESA representative. Europe’s new rocket will be designed to fly in two configurations, A62 and A64, which carry two and four solid rocket boosters, respectively.  

The new heavy lifter was originally expected to debut in 2020, but setbacks have repeatedly pushed that target down the calendar. Ariane 6 is now expected to launch no earlier than late 2023, leaving Europe with a gap of launch options until it's ready.