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Ariane 5 is a European heavy-lift space launch vehicle developed and operated by
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 ...
for the
European Space Agency , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...
(ESA). It is launched from the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) in
French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...
. It has been used to deliver payloads into
geostationary transfer orbit A geosynchronous transfer orbit or geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) is a type of geocentric orbit. Satellite, Satellites that are destined for geosynchronous orbit, geosynchronous (GSO) or geostationary orbit (GEO) are (almost) always put into ...
(GTO) or
low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...
(LEO). The launch vehicle had a streak of 82 consecutive successful launches between 9 April 2003 and 12 December 2017. Since 2014,
Ariane 6 Ariane 6 is a European expendable launch system currently under development since the early 2010s by ArianeGroup on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). It is intended to replace the Ariane 5, as part of the Ariane launch vehicle family. ...
, a direct successor system, is in development. The system was designed as an expendable launch system by 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), the French government's space agency, in cooperation with various European partners. Despite not being a direct derivative of its predecessor launch vehicle program, it is classified as part of the Ariane rocket family.
ArianeGroup ArianeGroup (formerly Airbus Safran Launchers) is an aerospace company based in France. A joint venture between Airbus and Safran, the company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux. It consists of three core arms: aeros ...
is the prime contractor for the manufacturing of the vehicles, leading a multi-country consortium of other European contractors. Ariane 5 was originally intended to launch the
Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orato ...
spacecraft, and thus it is rated for human space launches. Since its first launch, Ariane 5 has been refined in successive versions: "G", "G+", "GS", "ECA", and most recently, "ES". The system has a commonly used dual-launch capability, where up to two large geostationary belt
communication satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. C ...
s can be mounted using a SYLDA (''Système de Lancement Double Ariane'', meaning "Ariane Double-Launch System") carrier system. Up to three, somewhat smaller, main satellites are possible depending on size using a SPELTRA (''Structure Porteuse Externe Lancement Triple Ariane'', which translates to "Ariane Triple-Launch External Carrier Structure"). Up to eight secondary payloads, usually small experiment packages or minisatellites, can be carried with an ASAP (Ariane Structure for Auxiliary Payloads) platform. Following the launch of 15 August 2020, Arianespace signed the contracts for the last eight Ariane 5 launches, before it is succeeded by the new
Ariane 6 Ariane 6 is a European expendable launch system currently under development since the early 2010s by ArianeGroup on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). It is intended to replace the Ariane 5, as part of the Ariane launch vehicle family. ...
launcher, according to Daniel Neuenschwander, director of space transportation at the ESA.


Vehicle description


Cryogenic main stage

Ariane 5's
cryogenic In physics, cryogenics is the production and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures. The 13th IIR International Congress of Refrigeration (held in Washington DC in 1971) endorsed a universal definition of “cryogenics” and “cr ...
H173 main stage (H158 for Ariane 5G, G+, and GS) is called the EPC (''Étage Principal Cryotechnique'' — Cryotechnic Main Stage). It consists of a diameter by high tank with two compartments, one for
liquid oxygen 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 applica ...
and one for
liquid hydrogen 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 li ...
, and a Vulcain 2 engine at the base with a vacuum thrust of . The H173 EPC weighs about , including of propellant. After the main cryogenic stage runs out of fuel, it re-enters the atmosphere for an ocean splashdown.


Solid boosters

Attached to the sides are two P241 (P238 for Ariane 5G and G+)
solid rocket booster A solid rocket booster (SRB) is a large solid propellant motor used to provide thrust in spacecraft launches from initial launch through the first ascent. Many launch vehicles, including the Atlas V, SLS and space shuttle, have used SRBs to give ...
s (SRBs or EAPs from the French ''Étages d'Accélération à Poudre''), each weighing about full and delivering a thrust of about . They are fueled by a mix of
ammonium perchlorate Ammonium perchlorate ("AP") is an inorganic compound with the formula NH4 ClO4. It is a colorless or white solid that is soluble in water. It is a powerful oxidizer. Combined with a fuel, it can be used as a rocket propellant called ammonium pe ...
(68%) and aluminium fuel (18%) and
HTPB Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) is an oligomer of butadiene terminated at each end with a hydroxyl functional group. It reacts with isocyanates to form polyurethane polymers. HTPB is a translucent liquid with a color similar to wax paper ...
(14%). They each burn for 130 seconds before being dropped into the ocean. The SRBs are usually allowed to sink to the bottom of the ocean, but, like the
Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) was the first solid-propellant rocket to be used for primary propulsion on a vehicle used for human spaceflight. A pair of these provided 85% of the Space Shuttle's thrust at liftoff and for the first ...
s, they can be recovered with parachutes, and this has occasionally been done for post-flight analysis. Unlike Space Shuttle SRBs, Ariane 5 boosters are not reused. The most recent attempt was for the first Ariane 5 ECA mission in 2009. One of the two boosters was successfully recovered and returned to the Guiana Space Center for analysis. Prior to that mission, the last such recovery and testing was done in 2003. The French
M51 M51 or M-51 may refer to: * M-51 (Michigan highway), a state highway in Michigan * M51 highway (Russia) * M51 (Cape Town), a Metropolitan Route in Cape Town, South Africa * M51 Skysweeper, an anti-aircraft gun * M51 MACI mine * M51 SLBM, a Fre ...
submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) shares a substantial amount of technology with these boosters. In February 2000, the suspected
nose cone A nose cone is the conically shaped forwardmost section of a rocket, guided missile or aircraft, designed to modulate oncoming airflow behaviors and minimize aerodynamic drag. Nose cones are also designed for submerged watercraft such as ...
of an Ariane 5 booster washed ashore on the
South Texas South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and includes—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 4.96 ...
coast, and was recovered by beachcombers before the government could get to it.


Second stage

The second stage is on top of the main stage and below the payload. The original Ariane — Ariane 5G — used the EPS (''Étage à Propergols Stockables'' — Storable Propellant Stage), which was fueled by
monomethylhydrazine Monomethylhydrazine (mono-methyl hydrazine, MMH) is a highly toxic, volatile hydrazine derivative with the chemical formula . It is used as a rocket propellant in bipropellant rocket engines because it is hypergolic with various oxidizers such as ...
(MMH) and
nitrogen tetroxide Dinitrogen tetroxide, commonly referred to as nitrogen tetroxide (NTO), and occasionally (usually among ex-USSR/Russia rocket engineers) as amyl, is the chemical compound N2O4. It is a useful reagent in chemical synthesis. It forms an equilibrium ...
, containing of
storable propellant A propellant (or propellent) is a mass that is expelled or expanded in such a way as to create a thrust or other motive force in accordance with Newton's third law of motion, and "propel" a vehicle, projectile, or fluid payload. In vehicles, the e ...
. The EPS was subsequently improved for use on the Ariane 5G+, GS, and ES. The EPS upper stage is capable of repeated ignition, first demonstrated during flight V26 which was launched on 5 October 2007. This was purely to test the engine, and occurred after the payloads had been deployed. The first operational use of restart capability as part of a mission came on 9 March 2008, when two burns were made to deploy the first
Automated Transfer Vehicle The Automated Transfer Vehicle, originally Ariane Transfer Vehicle or ATV, was an expendable cargo spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), used for space cargo transport in 2008–2015. The ATV design was launched to orbit fiv ...
(ATV) into a circular parking orbit, followed by a third burn after ATV deployment to de-orbit the stage. This procedure was repeated for all subsequent ATV flights. Ariane 5ECA uses the ESC (''Étage Supérieur Cryotechnique'' — Cryogenic Upper Stage), which is fueled by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The ESC uses the
HM7B The HM7B is a European cryogenic upper stage rocket engine used on the vehicles in the Ariane rocket family. It will be replaced by Vinci, which will act as the new upper stage engine on Ariane 6. Nearly 300 engines have been produced to date. ...
engine previously used in the Ariane 4 third stage. The propellent load of 14.7 tonne allows the engine to burn for 945 seconds while providing 6.5 tonne of thrust. The ESC provides roll control during powered flight and full attitude control during payload separation using hydrogen gas thrusters. Oxygen gas thrusters allow longitudinal acceleration after engine cutoff. The flight assembly includes the Vehicle Equipment Bay, with flight electronics for the entire rocket, and the payload interface and structural support.


Fairing

The payload and all upper stages are covered at launch by a fairing for aerodynamic stability and protection from heating during supersonic flight and acoustic loads. It is jettisoned once sufficient altitude has been reached, typically above . It is made by
Ruag Space Beyond Gravity is the space-oriented segment of the Swiss technology group RUAG. At a total of fourteen sites in Switzerland ( Zurich, Emmen and Nyon), Sweden ( Gothenburg, Linköping), Finland (Tampere), Germany ( Coswig), USA (Denver, Tit ...
and since flight VA-238 it is composed of 4 panels.


Variants

Launch system status:


Launch pricing and market competition

, the Ariane 5 commercial launch
price A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, the price of production has a different name. If the product is a "good" in the c ...
for launching a "midsize satellite in the lower position" was approximately €50 million, competing for commercial launches in an increasingly
competitive market In economics, competition is a scenario where different economic firmsThis article follows the general economic convention of referring to all actors as firms; examples in include individuals and brands or divisions within the same (legal) firm ...
. The heavier satellite is launched in the upper position on a typical dual-satellite Ariane 5 launch and is priced higher than the lower satellite, on the order of €90 million . Total launch price of an Ariane 5 – which can transport up to two satellites to space, one in the "upper" and one in the "lower" positions – was around €150 million .


Cancelled plans for future developments


Ariane 5 ME

The Ariane 5 ME (Mid-life Evolution) was in development into early 2015, and was seen as a stopgap between Ariane 5ECA/Ariane 5ES and the new
Ariane 6 Ariane 6 is a European expendable launch system currently under development since the early 2010s by ArianeGroup on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). It is intended to replace the Ariane 5, as part of the Ariane launch vehicle family. ...
. With first flight planned for 2018, it would have become ESA's principal launcher until the arrival of the new Ariane 6 version. ESA halted funding for the development of Ariane 5ME in late 2014 to prioritize development of Ariane 6. The Ariane 5ME was to use a new upper stage, with increased propellant volume, powered by the new Vinci engine. Unlike the HM-7B engine, it was to be able to restart several times, allowing for complex orbital maneuvers such as insertion of two satellites into different orbits, direct insertion into geosynchronous orbit, planetary exploration missions, and guaranteed upper stage deorbiting or insertion into
graveyard orbit A graveyard orbit, also called a junk orbit or disposal orbit, is an orbit that lies away from common operational orbits. One significant graveyard orbit is a supersynchronous orbit well beyond geosynchronous orbit. Some satellites are moved int ...
. The launcher was also to include a lengthened fairing up to and a new dual launch system to accommodate larger satellites. Compared to an Ariane 5ECA model, the payload to GTO was to increase by 15% to and the cost-per-kilogram of each launch is projected to decline by 20%.


Development

Originally known as the Ariane 5ECB, Ariane 5ME was to have its first flight in 2006. However, the failure of the first ECA flight in 2002, combined with a deteriorating satellite industry, caused ESA to cancel development in 2003. Development of the Vinci engine continued, though at a lower pace. The ESA Council of Ministers agreed to fund development of the new upper stage in November 2008. In 2009,
EADS Astrium Astrium was an aerospace manufacturer subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) that provided civil and military space systems and services from 2006 to 2013. In 2012, Astrium had a turnover of €5.8 billion and 18 ...
was awarded a €200 million contract, and on 10 April 2012 received another €112 million contract to continue development of the Ariane 5ME with total development effort expected to cost €1 billion. On 21 November 2012, ESA agreed to continue with the Ariane 5ME to meet the challenge of lower priced competitors. It was agreed the Vinci upper stage would also be used as the second stage of a new Ariane 6, and further commonality would be sought. Ariane 5ME qualification flight was scheduled for mid-2018, followed by gradual introduction into service. On 2 December 2014, ESA decided to stop funding the development of Ariane 5ME and instead focus on Ariane 6, which was expected to have a lower cost per launch and allow more flexibility in the payloads (using two or four P120C solid boosters depending on total payload mass).


Solid propellant stage

Work on the Ariane 5 EAP motors has been continued in the
Vega Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the Bayer designation α Lyrae, which is Latinised to Alpha Lyrae and abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr. This star is relatively close at only from the Sun, an ...
programme. The Vega 1st stage engine – the
P80 P80 may refer to: Automobiles * BMW P80, a family of Formula One engines * Toyota Starlet (P80), a Japanese car * Volvo P80 platform, a Swedish mid-size automobile platform * WM P80, a French prototype racing car Other vehicles * P80 (rocke ...
engine – is a shorter derivation of the EAP. The P80 booster casing is made of filament wound graphite epoxy, much lighter than the current stainless steel casing. A new composite steerable nozzle has been developed while new thermal insulation material and a narrower throat improve the expansion ratio and subsequently the overall performance. Additionally, the nozzle now has electromechanical actuators which have replaced the heavier hydraulic ones used for thrust vector control. These developments will probably later make their way back into the Ariane programme. The incorporation of the ESC-B with the improvements to the solid motor casing and an uprated Vulcain engine would deliver to LEO. This would be developed for any lunar missions but the performance of such a design may not be possible if the higher Max-Q for the launch of this launch vehicle poses a constraint on the mass delivered to orbit.


Ariane 6

The design brief of the next generation launch vehicle
Ariane 6 Ariane 6 is a European expendable launch system currently under development since the early 2010s by ArianeGroup on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). It is intended to replace the Ariane 5, as part of the Ariane launch vehicle family. ...
called for a lower-cost and smaller launch vehicle capable of launching a single satellite of up to to GTO. However, after several permutations the finalized design was nearly identical in performance to the Ariane 5, focusing instead on lowering fabrication costs and launch prices. , Ariane 6 was projected to be launched for about €70 million per flight, about half of the Ariane 5 price. Initially development of Ariane 6 was projected to cost €3.6 billion. In 2017, the ESA set 16 July 2020 as the deadline for the first flight. As of June 2022, Arianespace expects the maiden flight to occur in 2023.


Notable launches

Ariane 5's first test flight (
Ariane 5 Flight 501 Ariane flight V88 was the failed maiden flight of the Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket, vehicle no. 501, on 4 June 1996. It carried the Cluster spacecraft, a constellation of four European Space Agency research satellites. The launch ended in f ...
) on 4 June 1996 failed, with the rocket self-destructing 37 seconds after launch because of a malfunction in the control software. A data conversion from 64-
bit The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communications. The name is a portmanteau of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represente ...
floating-point In computing, floating-point arithmetic (FP) is arithmetic that represents real numbers approximately, using an integer with a fixed precision, called the significand, scaled by an integer exponent of a fixed base. For example, 12.345 can b ...
value to 16-bit signed
integer An integer is the number zero (), a positive natural number (, , , etc.) or a negative integer with a minus sign (−1, −2, −3, etc.). The negative numbers are the additive inverses of the corresponding positive numbers. In the language ...
value to be stored in a variable representing horizontal bias caused a processor trap (operand error) because the floating-point value was too large to be represented by a 16-bit signed integer. The software had been written for 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 ...
where efficiency considerations (the computer running the software had an 80% maximum workload requirement) led to four variables being protected with a handler while three others, including the horizontal bias variable, were left unprotected because it was thought that they were "physically limited or that there was a large margin of safety". The software, written in
Ada Ada may refer to: Places Africa * Ada Foah, a town in Ghana * Ada (Ghana parliament constituency) * Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria Asia * Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, ...
, was included in the Ariane 5 through the reuse of an entire Ariane 4 subsystem despite the fact that the particular software containing the bug, which was just a part of the subsystem, was not required by the Ariane 5 because it has a different preparation sequence than the Ariane 4. The second test flight (L502, on 30 October 1997) was a partial failure. The Vulcain nozzle caused a roll problem, leading to premature shutdown of the core stage. The upper stage operated successfully, but it could not reach the intended orbit. A subsequent test flight (L503, on 21 October 1998) proved successful and the first commercial launch (L504) occurred on 10 December 1999 with the launch of the
XMM-Newton ''XMM-Newton'', also known as the High Throughput X-ray Spectroscopy Mission and the X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission, is an X-ray space observatory launched by the European Space Agency in December 1999 on an Ariane 5 rocket. It is the second cornerst ...
X-ray observatory satellite. Another partial failure occurred on 12 July 2001, with the delivery of two satellites into an incorrect orbit, at only half the height of the intended GTO. The ESA
Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...
telecommunications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. C ...
was able to reach its intended orbit on 31 January 2003, through the use of its experimental
ion propulsion An ion thruster, ion drive, or ion engine is a form of electric propulsion used for spacecraft propulsion. It creates thrust by accelerating ions using electricity. An ion thruster ionizes a neutral gas by extracting some electrons out of ...
system. The next launch did not occur until 1 March 2002, when the
Envisat Envisat ("Environmental Satellite") is a large inactive Earth-observing satellite which is still in orbit and now considered space debris. Operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), it was the world's largest civilian Earth observation satell ...
environmental satellite An Earth observation satellite or Earth remote sensing satellite is a satellite used or designed for Earth observation (EO) from orbit, including spy satellites and similar ones intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, me ...
successfully reached an orbit of above the
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
in the 11th launch. At , it was the heaviest single payload until the launch of the first ATV on 9 March 2008, at . The first launch of the ECA variant on 11 December 2002 ended in failure when a main booster problem caused the rocket to veer off-course, forcing its self-destruction three minutes into the flight. Its payload of two communications satellites (
STENTOR In Greek mythology, Stentor (Ancient Greek: Στέντωρ; ''gen''.: Στέντορος) was a herald of the Greek forces during the Trojan War. Mythology Stentor is mentioned briefly in Homer's ''Iliad'' in which Hera in the guise of Stent ...
and
Hot Bird 7 Hot Bird 7 was a communications satellite that lost in a launch failure in 2002. Intended for operation by Eutelsat, it was to have provided direct-to-home broadcasting services from geostationary orbit as part of Eutelsat's Hot Bird constellat ...
), valued at about €630 million, was lost in 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 ...
. The fault was determined to have been caused by a leak in coolant pipes allowing the nozzle to overheat. After this failure, Arianespace SA delayed the expected January 2003 launch for the
Rosetta Rosetta or Rashid (; ar, رشيد ' ; french: Rosette  ; cop, ϯⲣⲁϣⲓⲧ ''ti-Rashit'', Ancient Greek: Βολβιτίνη ''Bolbitinē'') is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Ro ...
mission to 26 February 2004, but this was again delayed to early March 2004 due to a minor fault in the foam that protects the cryogenic tanks on the Ariane 5. As of June 2017, the failure of the first ECA launch was the last failure of an Ariane 5; since then, 82 consecutive launches have been successful, from April 2003 with the launch of
INSAT-3A INSAT-3A, a multipurpose satellite built by ISRO was launched by Ariane (rocket family), Ariane in April 2003. It is located at 93.5 degree East longitude. It is third satellite in INSAT-3 series after INSAT-3B & INSAT-3C. Built at a cost of $53 mn ...
and Galaxy 12 satellites, to flight 240 in December 2017. On 27 September 2003, the last Ariane 5G boosted three satellites (including the first European lunar probe, SMART-1), in Flight 162. On 18 July 2004, an Ariane 5G+ boosted what was at the time the heaviest telecommunication satellite ever,
Anik F2 Anik may refer to: * Anik (satellite), satellites launched by Canadian telecommunications company Telesat * Anik, Iran, a village in South Khorasan Province, Iran * Anik Mountain * Anik Bissonnette, a Canadian ballet dancer * Anik Jean (born 1977) ...
, weighing almost . The first successful launch of the Ariane 5ECA took place on 12 February 2005. The payload consisted of the
XTAR-EUR The XTAR-EUR is a communication satellite developed by Spain and the United States and in order to provide a secure channel over the Indian Ocean. It was originally operated by XTAR and Hisdesat. In year 2020 Hisdesat bought 100% stake on the sa ...
military communications satellite, a 'SLOSHSAT' small scientific satellite and a MaqSat B2 payload simulator. The launch had been scheduled for October 2004, but additional testing and a military launch (of a Helios 2A observation satellite) delayed the attempt. On 11 August 2005, the first Ariane 5GS (featuring the Ariane 5ECA's improved solid motors) boosted
Thaicom 4 THAICOM 4, also known as IPSTAR 1, is a high throughput satellite built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) for Thaicom Public Company Limited. It was launched on August 11, 2005, from the European Space Agency's spaceport in French Guiana on board t ...
, the heaviest telecommunications satellite to date at , into orbit. On 16 November 2005, the third Ariane 5ECA launch (the second successful ECA launch) took place. It carried a dual payload consisting of Spaceway F2 for
DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...
and
Telkom-2 Telkom-2 was a geosynchronous communications satellite built by Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) for Indonesia's state-owned telecommunications company, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (PT Telkom). Telkom-2 was successfully launched on 16 N ...
for PT Telekomunikasi of
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. This was the launch vehicle's heaviest dual payload to date, at more than . On 27 May 2006, an Ariane 5ECA launch vehicle set a new commercial payload lifting record of . The dual-payload consisted of the
Thaicom 5 Thaicom 5 was a geostationary communications satellite operated by Thaicom. It was used to provide communications services to Asia, Africa, Middle East, Americas, Europe and Australia. Overview Thaicom 5 was constructed by Alcatel Alenia Space ...
and
Satmex 6 Eutelsat 113 West A, formerly Satmex-6, is a geostationary communications satellite which is operated by Eutelsat. Originally built for Mexico's Satmex, it was launched in 2006. The satellite was acquired by Eutelsat in its 2014 merger with Satmex ...
satellites. On 4 May 2007, the Ariane 5ECA set another new commercial record, lifting into transfer orbit the Astra 1L and
Galaxy 17 Galaxy 17 is a communications satellite owned by Intelsat to be located at 91° West longitude, serving the North American market. Galaxy 17 was intended to replace SBS 6. It was built by Alcatel Alenia Space (which is now Thales Alenia Space), ...
communication satellites with a combined weight of , and a total payload weight of . This record was again broken by another Ariane 5ECA, launching the
Skynet 5B Skynet 5B is a military communications satellite operated by Astrium Services, formerly Paradigm Secure Communications, on behalf of the British Ministry of Defence. It was the second of four Skynet 5 satellites to be launched. Spacecraft The S ...
and
Star One C1 Star One C1 is a Brazilian communications satellite. It was launched on 14 November 2007 by an Ariane 5ECA carrier rocket, as part of a dual-payload launch with Skynet 5B. It was built by Thales Alenia Space, based on the Spacebus-3000B3 satellit ...
satellites, on 11 November 2007. The total payload weight for this launch was of . On 9 March 2008, the first Ariane 5ES-ATV was launched to deliver the first ATV called ''
Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
'' to the
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
(ISS). The ATV was the heaviest payload ever launched by a European launch vehicle, providing supplies to the space station with necessary propellant, water, air and dry cargo. This was the first operational Ariane mission which involved an engine restart in the upper stage. The ES-ATV Aestus EPS upper stage was restartable while the ECA HM7-B engine was not. On 1 July 2009, an Ariane 5ECA launched
TerreStar-1 TerreStar-1 is an American communications satellite which was operated by TerreStar Corporation. It was constructed by Space Systems/Loral, based on the LS-1300S bus, and carries E/ F band (IEEE S band) transponders which will be used to provid ...
(now EchoStar T1), which was then, at , the largest and most massive commercial telecommunication satellite ever built at that time until being overtaken by Telstar 19 Vantage, at , launched aboard
Falcon 9 Falcon 9 is a partially reusable medium lift launch vehicle that can carry cargo and crew into Earth orbit, produced by American aerospace company SpaceX. The rocket has two stages. The first (booster) stage carries the second stage and payl ...
. The satellite was launched into a lower-energy orbit than a usual GTO, with its initial apogee at roughly . On 28 October 2010, an Ariane 5ECA launched
Eutelsat Eutelsat S.A. is a French satellite operator. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas, it is the world's third-largest satellite operator in terms of revenues. Eutelsat's satellit ...
's W3B (part of its W Series of satellites) and
Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation The Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT) is a Japanese corporation established in April 1993 to procure, manage and lease transponders on communications satellites. Its largest stockholder, owning 49.9%, is NHK, the Japan Broadcasting ...
(B-SAT)'s BSAT-3b satellites into orbit. But the W3B satellite failed to operate shortly after the successful launch and was written off as a total loss due to an oxidizer leak in the satellite's main propulsion system. The BSAT-3b satellite, however, is operating normally. The VA253 launch on 15 August 2020 introduced two small changes that increased lift capacity by about ; these were a lighter avionics and guidance-equipment bay, and modified pressure vents on the payload fairing, which were required for the subsequent launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. It also debuted a location system using Galileo navigation satellites. On 25 December 2021, VA256 launched the
James Webb Space Telescope The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope which conducts infrared astronomy. As the largest optical telescope in space, its high resolution and sensitivity allow it to view objects too old, distant, or faint for the Hubble Spa ...
towards a Sun–Earth L2
halo orbit A halo orbit is a periodic, three-dimensional orbit near one of the L1, L2 or L3 Lagrange points in the three-body problem of orbital mechanics. Although a Lagrange point is just a point in empty space, its peculiar characteristic is that it ca ...
. The precision of trajectory following launch led to fuel savings credited with potentially doubling the lifetime of the telescope by leaving more hydrazine propellant on-board for station-keeping than was expected. According to Rudiger Albat, the program manager for Ariane 5, efforts had been made to select components for this flight that had performed especially well during pre-flight testing, including "one of the best Vulcain engines that we've ever built."


GTO payload weight records

On 22 April 2011, the Ariane 5ECA flight VA-201 broke a commercial record, lifting
Yahsat 1A Yahsat 1A is a communications satellite constructed by EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia Space for Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat). It was launched in April 2011 from Arianespace's Guiana Space Centre in Kourou French Guiana in a dual ...
and Intelsat New Dawn with a total payload weight of to transfer orbit. This record was later broken again during the launch of Ariane 5ECA flight VA-208 on 2 August 2012, lifting a total of into the planned geosynchronous transfer orbit, which was broken again 6 months later on flight VA-212 with sent towards geosynchronous transfer orbit. In June 2016, the GTO record was raised to , on the first rocket in history that carried a satellite dedicated to financial institutions. The payload record was pushed a further , up to on 24 August 2016 with the launch of
Intelsat 33e Intelsat 33e, also known as IS-33e, is a high throughput (HTS) geostationary communications satellite operated by Intelsat and designed and manufactured by Boeing Space Systems on the BSS 702MP satellite bus. It is the second satellite of the ...
and Intelsat 36. On 1 June 2017, the payload record was broken again to carrying
ViaSat-2 ViaSat-2 is a commercial communications satellite launched June 1, 2017 and went live late February 2018. It was advertised to be the world's highest capacity communications satellite with a throughput of 300 Gbit/s, succeeding HughesNet EchoSta ...
and Eutelsat-172B. In 2021 VA-255 put 11,210 kg into GTO.


VA241 anomaly

On 25 January 2018, an Ariane 5ECA launched
SES-14 SES-14 is a geostationary communications satellite operated by SES S.A. at 47.5° West, replaces NSS-806, and designed and manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space. The satellite launched on 25 January 2018 at 22:20 UTC along with the Global ...
and Al Yah 3 satellites. About 9 minutes and 28 seconds after launch, a telemetry loss occurred between the launch vehicle and the ground controllers. It was later confirmed, about 1 hour and 20 minutes after launch, that both satellites were successfully separated from the upper stage and were in contact with their respective ground controllers, but that their orbital inclinations were incorrect as the guidance systems might have been compromised. Therefore, both satellites conducted orbital procedures, extending commissioning time. SES-14 needed about 8 weeks longer than planned commissioning time, meaning that entry into service was reported early September instead of July. Nevertheless, SES-14 is still expected to be able to meet the designed lifetime. This satellite was originally to be launched with more propellant reserve on a
Falcon 9 Falcon 9 is a partially reusable medium lift launch vehicle that can carry cargo and crew into Earth orbit, produced by American aerospace company SpaceX. The rocket has two stages. The first (booster) stage carries the second stage and payl ...
launch vehicle since the Falcon 9, in this specific case, was intended to deploy this satellite into a high inclination orbit that would require more work from the satellite to reach its final geostationary orbit. The Al Yah 3 was also confirmed healthy after more than 12 hours without further statement, and like SES-14, Al Yah 3's maneuvering plan was also revised to still fulfill the original mission. As of 16 February 2018, Al Yah 3 was approaching the intended geostationary orbit, after series of recovery maneuvers had been performed. The investigation showed that invalid inertial units' azimuth value had sent the vehicle 17° off course but to the intended altitude, they had been programmed for the standard geostationary transfer orbit of 90° when the payloads were intended to be 70° for this supersynchronous transfer orbit mission, 20° off norme. This mission anomaly marked the end of 82nd consecutive success streak since 2003.


Launch history


Launch statistics

Ariane 5 launch vehicles have accumulated 114 launches since 1996, 109 of which were successful, yielding a success rate. Between April 2003 and December 2017, Ariane 5 flew 83 consecutive missions without failure, but the launch vehicle suffered a partial failure in January 2018.


Rocket configurations


Launch outcomes


List of launches

All launches are from Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG),
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 ...
,
ELA-3 ELA-3 (french: Ensemble de Lancement Ariane 3, lit=Ariane Launch Complex 3), is a launch pad and associated facilities at the Centre Spatial Guyanais in French Guiana. ELA-3 is operated by Arianespace as part of the expendable launch system f ...
.


Future payloads and scheduled flights


See also

*
List of Ariane launches Rockets from the Ariane rocket family have accumulated 258 launches since 1979, 246 of which were successful, yielding a success rate. The currently operational version, Ariane 5 Ariane 5 is a European heavy-lift space launch vehicle dev ...
*
Ariane 6 Ariane 6 is a European expendable launch system currently under development since the early 2010s by ArianeGroup on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). It is intended to replace the Ariane 5, as part of the Ariane launch vehicle family. ...
, Two initial variants *
Comparison of orbital launchers families This article compares different orbital launcher families (although many launchers that are significantly different from other members of the same 'family' have their own separate entries). The article is organized into two tables: the first tabl ...
*
Comparison of orbital launch systems This comparison of orbital launch systems lists the attributes of all individual rocket configurations designed to reach orbit. A first list contains rockets that are operational or in development as of 2022; a second list includes all retired roc ...
*
Future Launchers Preparatory Programme The Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP) is a technology development and maturation programme of the European Space Agency (ESA). It develops technologies for the application in future European launch vehicles (launchers) and in upgrades ...
(ESA, beyond Ariane 5)


References


External links


Ariane 5 Overview
at Arianespace

at Astrium {{European launch systems Ariane (rocket family) Articles containing video clips Vehicles introduced in 1996