Ariane 5: Europe's Retired Workhorse
A Quarter Century of Launches
WEB Ariane 5, Europe's principal launch system for over a quarter of a century, has retired after 117 successful flights between 1996 and 2023 from the European Spaceport in French Guiana.
A Legacy of Innovation
Developed and operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA), Ariane 5 was a heavy-lift space launch vehicle designed to place payloads weighing up to 96 tonnes into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). The latest version, Ariane 5 ECA, featured a more powerful lower composite and an upgraded storable propellant stage.
Ariane 5 ES Evolution Storable was derived from the generic Ariane 5 but incorporated a stronger lower composite and a small upgraded storable propellant stage. Arianespace's Ariane 5 held the distinction of being the world reference for heavy-lift launchers, capable of carrying payloads exceeding 10 metric tons to geostationary orbit.
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