Ariane 1 was the first rocket in the
Ariane family of
expendable launch systems. It was developed and operated by the
European Space Agency (ESA), which had been formed in 1973, the same year that development of the launcher had commenced.
Ariane 1 was the first launcher to be developed with the primary purpose of sending
commercial satellites into
geosynchronous orbit. Crucially, it was designed with the ability of sending a pair of satellites into orbit on a single launcher, thus reducing costs. As the size of satellites grew, Ariane 1 quickly gave way to the more powerful
Ariane 2
Ariane 2 was a European expendable space launch vehicle, operated by the European Space Agency (ESA) between 1986 and 1989 as part of Ariane family of rockets. The principal manufacturer for the Ariane 2 was Aérospatiale, while the lead agen ...
and
Ariane 3
Ariane 3 was a European expendable carrier rocket, which was used for eleven launches between 1984 and 1989. It was a member of the Ariane family of rockets. The principal manufacturer for the Ariane 3 was Aérospatiale, while the lead agency ...
launchers, which were heavily based upon the original rocket. The
Ariane 4
The Ariane 4 was a European expendable space launch system, developed by the '' Centre national d'études spatiales'' (CNES), the French space agency, for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was manufactured by ArianeGroup and marketed by Ari ...
was the last rocket to heavily draw upon the Ariane 1, as the successor rocket
Ariane 5 uses a far greater proportion of all-new elements.
Development
Origins
In 1975, eleven European countries decided to pursue joint collaboration in the field of space exploration and formed a new pan-national organisation to undertake this mission, the
European Space Agency (ESA).
[Harvey 2003, pp. 161-162.] For some time prior to the ESA's formation,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
had been lobbying for the development of a new European
expendable launch system to serve as a replacement for the
Europa
Europa may refer to:
Places
* Europe
* Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace
* Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro
* Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development
* Europa Cliff ...
rocket; one proposed successor in the form of a refined Europa, referred to as the ''Europa IIIB'', was studied but was found to be too ambitious and costly.
As a result, the Europa IIIB proposal was scaled back and soon reemerged as the ''L3S''. Multinational effort became a quick focus point for the L3S proposal; early on, emphasis was placed upon cooperation on the initiative between
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and France, while increasing contribution from other countries also came into the picture over time.
[Harvey 2003, p. 161.]
In January 1973,
Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ge ...
, the
Chancellor of Germany, formally agreed to the L3S project following a series of personal approaches by
Georges Pompidou
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( , ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously was Prime Minister of France of President Charles de Gaulle from 1962 to 196 ...
, the
President of France
The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency i ...
.
On 21 September 1973, the legal agreement for the L3S, was signed. Under this agreement, the Europa III was formally cancelled, while the L3S would be developed as a multinational project. From the onset, the launcher was to be developed for the purpose of sending
commercial satellites into
geosynchronous orbit, unlike many other competing launchers, which had been typically developed for other purposes and subsequently adapted, such as
ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...
s.
[Harvey 2003, pp. 161, 166.] Development of L3S was seen as a crucial test for the ESA, the fortunes of the former being viewed as being highly indicative for the future of the latter.
[Harvey 2003, p. 162.] According to author Brian Harvey, L3S was "one of the major European engineering projects in the last quarter of the century".
[Harvey 2003, p. 165.]
France was the largest stakeholder in the L3S programme; French
aerospace manufacturer
An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology indust ...
Aérospatiale served as the
prime contractor
A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...
and held responsibility for performing the integration of all sections of the vehicle, while French engine manufacturer
Société Européenne de Propulsion (SEP) provided both the first and second stage engines (the third stage engines were produced by
Air Liquide
Air Liquide S.A. (; ; literally "liquid air"), is a French multinational company which supplies industrial gases and services to various industries including medical, chemical and electronic manufacturers. Founded in 1902, after Linde it is ...
and German aerospace manufacturer
MBB). Other major companies involved included the French electronics firm
Matra
Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a French industrial conglomerate. During its years of operation, it was engaged in a wide range of business activities, primarily focused around automobiles, bicycles, aeronautics and w ...
, Swedish manufacturer
Volvo
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
, and German aircraft producer
Dornier Flugzeugwerke.
The
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, which held a stake of 2.47 per cent in the project, provided the guidance system, developed by
Ferranti
Ferranti or Ferranti International plc was a UK electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century from 1885 until it went bankrupt in 1993. The company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
The firm was known ...
, and the central digital computer, from
Marconi;
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marcon ...
had later involvement and workshare as well. Early on, it was felt that the L3S designation lacked public appeal; out of several alternative names, including ''Phoenix'', ''Lyra'', ''Ganymede'' and ''Vega'', French minister of industrial and scientific development
Jean Charbonnel chose the name ''Ariane'' for the new launcher.
[Harvey 2003, p. 166.]
Preparation
During mid-1974, work on the Ariane was temporarily suspended as a result of the substantial cost involved; several other French space projects has incurred delays or funding shortages due to the ongoing development, which had led to disruption and greater funding being made available by the French government to their national space agency, the
Centre national d'études spatiales
The (CNES; French: ''Centre national d'études spatiales'') is the French government space agency (administratively, a "public administration with industrial and commercial purpose"). Its headquarters are located in central Paris and it is und ...
(CNES).
Development of the third stage was a major focus point for the project - prior to Ariane, only the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
had ever flown a launcher that utilised
hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic ...
-powered upper stages. During 1977 and 1978, preparations and testing commenced in anticipation of the first Ariane launch; while some issues were encountered during ground tests and engine firings, these had resulted in no meaningful delays and these milestones had been successfully passed.
[Harvey 2003, pp. 165-166.] The ESA decided that there should be a total of four development flights flown prior to initiating commercial operations; however, vacant space was made available to operators for these flights on the proviso that success was not guaranteed.
In order to accommodate Ariane launches, the
Guiana Space Centre
The Guiana Space Centre (french: links=no, Centre spatial guyanais; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport, is a European spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, a region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximatel ...
at
Kourou
Kourou () is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America. Kourou is famous for being the location of the Guiana Space Centre, the main spaceport of France and the European Space Agency (ESA). It i ...
,
French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...
received extensive modifications.
[Harvey 2003, p. 167.] The former Europa launch site was re-designated as ''ELA 1'' (''Ensemble de Lancement Ariane 1'') and was rebuilt with a lowered base and elongated tower. While all Ariane launches would take place from French Guiana, rocket construction would be performed at Aérospatiale's facility in
Les Mureaux
Les Mureaux () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the north-western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris.
Population
Transport
Les Mureaux is served by Les ...
,
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
.
In order to deliver the rocket from the production facility to the launch site, each stage of the Ariane would be shipped on
barge
Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...
s down the
Seine to
Le Havre
Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...
, where they would be loaded onto an ocean-going vessel and be conveyed across the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
to
Kourou
Kourou () is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America. Kourou is famous for being the location of the Guiana Space Centre, the main spaceport of France and the European Space Agency (ESA). It i ...
; a combination of
road
A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation.
There are many types of ...
s and
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
s would transport the components inland to the space center itself. Once fully assembled, the rocket would be moved a short distance to the launch pad itself on a mobile rail-mounted platform and stored within a fully enclosed
air conditioned
Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...
service tower, where the payload would be installed and final checks performed under
clean room
A cleanroom or clean room is an engineered space, which maintains a very low concentration of airborne particulates. It is well isolated, well-controlled from contamination, and actively cleansed. Such rooms are commonly needed for scientif ...
conditions.
Prior to Ariane's first launch, there was some scepticism, much coming from American and British figures, that the endeavour was an expensive indulgence that could be unnecessary, and rendered uncompetitive, by the upcoming
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...
, a partially
reusable launch system
A reusable launch vehicle have parts that can be recovered and reflown, while carrying payloads from the surface to outer space. Rocket stages are the most common launch vehicle parts aimed for reuse. Smaller parts such as rocket engines and boos ...
that was then under development by
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
.
By 1977, there had only been three initial customers lined up for Ariane; however, in December 1977, communications satellite operator
Intelsat was persuaded to placed an order for two
Intelsat IVs to be launched using Ariane. This was considered a major coup for the programme as Intelsat was viewed as heavily committed to using the rival Space Shuttle launcher for a large number of its satellites at that point.
[Harvey 2003, pp. 167, 169.] One week later, ESA announced its commitment to a production run of 10 Ariane 1 launchers.
[Harvey 2003, p. 169.]
Maiden flight
There was considerable pressure for Ariane to perform its
maiden flight
The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets.
The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alw ...
prior to end of 1979.
It was decided that Ariane should launch on 15 December 1979 and, 38 hours prior the launch, the countdown was initiated; however, a technical issue was encountered in the final hour which led to an abort. Despite fears that the launch would have to be delayed for a month, it was decided to resume the countdown for a second attempt.
However, upon the countdown reaching zero, three seconds following engine ignition, the onboard computer decided to cut engine power due to erroneous sensor information indicating that engine pressure had been falling. Another attempt was quickly scheduled for 24 December 1979; this time, the launch was successfully executed and the first Ariane flight was performed, the firing button having been personally pressed by French President
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, , ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981.
After serving as Minister of Finance under prime ...
.
For the first flight, designated as ''L-O1'' (Lancement
aunch01), the payload consisted of an
Aeritalia
Aeritalia was an aerospace engineering corporation based in Italy. It was formed out of the merger of two aviation companies, Fiat Aviazione and Aerfer, in 1969.
Aeritalia continued several programs of its preceding companies, perhaps most p ...
-built test instrumentation system, known as CAT (Capsule Ariane Technologique), for the purpose of measuring all key stages of the ascent in great detail, such as noise, stress, acceleration, temperature, and pressure; this unit was also designed to simulate a real satellite payload.
CAT was successfully placed into an orbit of ; the successful deployment of this payload indicated the end of the American
monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...
on commercial satellite launches. On 26 March 1980, almost immediately after the success of LO-1, CNES and ESA created a new company for the purpose of promoting, marketing, and managing Ariane operations, choosing to name the venture
Arianespace
Arianespace SA is a French company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider. It undertakes the operation and marketing of the Ariane programme. The company offers a number of different launch vehicles: the heavy ...
.
Design
With lift-off mass of , Ariane 1 was able to put in
geostationary transfer orbit one
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...
or two smaller of a maximal weight of . The cost of program is estimated at 2 billion euros.
The Ariane 1 was a four-stage vehicle (fourth stage put satellite from GTO to GEO is usually not counted as part of rocket, because it is included in 1,850 kg of payload). The first stage was equipped with 4 Viking engines developed by the
Société Européenne de Propulsion. The second stage had a single Viking engine. The third stage had one
LOX
Liquid oxygen—abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries—is the liquid form of molecular oxygen. It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an appli ...
/
LH2
Liquid hydrogen (LH2 or LH2) is the liquid state of the element hydrogen. Hydrogen is found naturally in the molecular H2 form.
To exist as a liquid, H2 must be cooled below its critical point of 33 K. However, for it to be in a fully liq ...
bipropellant engine capable of a
thrust
Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that sys ...
of .
This design was kept in the Ariane series until
Ariane 4
The Ariane 4 was a European expendable space launch system, developed by the '' Centre national d'études spatiales'' (CNES), the French space agency, for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was manufactured by ArianeGroup and marketed by Ari ...
.
Launches
On 24 December 1979, the first Ariane launch, designated as ''L-O1'', was conducted, which was successful.
However, in 1980, the second launch, ''L-O2'' ended in a failure shortly after takeoff, which had been caused by a combustion instability that had occurred in one of the Viking first stage engines.
[Harvey 2003, p. 170.] The third launch, ''L-O3'' succeeded, which resulted in the orbiting of three separate satellites; the fourth and last qualification launch, ''L-04'', was also a success. However, during the fifth launch, which was the first commercial mission to be performed by Ariane, designated as ''L5'', the rocket ceased functioning after 7 minutes of flight. This failure was traced back to a single turbopump in the third stage that had stopped functioning, and a significant re-design of elements of the third stage was performed as a result.
[Harvey 2003, p. 171.]
The failure of the first commercial flight had created a tense atmosphere along with a flurry of criticism being aired about the Ariane programme.
[Harvey 2003, pp. 171-172.] Following the completion of a complete review of the programme, on 16 June 1983, the second commercial flight, ''L6'' was successfully launched into orbit. This began a run of successful flight for the launcher, the following six flights were all successes.
[Harvey 2003, p. 172.] As a result of the repeated successes, orders for the type increased quickly; by early 1984, a total of 27 satellites had been booked for Ariane, which was half of the world market at that time. As a result of the commercial success, after the tenth Ariane mission was flown, the ESA transferred responsibility for Ariane over to Arianespace.
The
Giotto mission
''Giotto'' was a European robotic spacecraft mission from the European Space Agency. The spacecraft flew by and studied Halley's Comet and in doing so became the first spacecraft to make close up observations of a comet. On 13 March 1986, the s ...
's spaceprobe was successfully launched on the tenth Ariane 1 mission, ''V-14'', on 2 July 1985. The first
SPOT
Spot or SPOT may refer to:
Places
* Spot, North Carolina, a community in the United States
* The Spot, New South Wales, a locality in Sydney, Australia
* South Pole Traverse, sometimes called the South Pole Overland Traverse
People
* Spot (prod ...
satellite was put into
orbit
In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as ...
by the eleventh and last launch of Ariane 1 on 22 February 1986.
By early 1986, the Ariane 1, along with its
Ariane 2
Ariane 2 was a European expendable space launch vehicle, operated by the European Space Agency (ESA) between 1986 and 1989 as part of Ariane family of rockets. The principal manufacturer for the Ariane 2 was Aérospatiale, while the lead agen ...
and
Ariane 3
Ariane 3 was a European expendable carrier rocket, which was used for eleven launches between 1984 and 1989. It was a member of the Ariane family of rockets. The principal manufacturer for the Ariane 3 was Aérospatiale, while the lead agency ...
derivatives, were the dominant launcher on the world market.
Launch history
References
Citations
Bibliography
* Harvey, Brian. ''Europe's Space Programme: To Ariane and Beyond.'' Springer Science & Business Media, 2003. .
External links
The Ariane rocket family
{{Use British English, date=January 2014
Ariane (rocket family)
Vehicles introduced in 1979