Facts about Ariane 5
- 09
A geo-synchronous transfer orbit payload capacity of around 10 metric tons made Ariane 5 the preferred launcher for heavy commercial communications satellites throughout the 2000s and 2010s.
- 08
With a total height of 58.8 meters and a launch mass of 780 metric tons, Ariane 5 ranks among the largest expendable launch vehicles ever built.
- 07
Ariane 5's Vulcain 2 main engine generates 90 metric tons of thrust in vacuum and runs on a mixture of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants.
- 06
Solid rocket boosters attached to Ariane 5 each produce 740 metric tons of thrust at sea level, accounting for approximately 90 percent of the vehicle's total liftoff power.
- 05
In 2023, Ariane 5 completed its final mission after 27 years of operations, having successfully launched 117 missions since 1997 with a reliability rate exceeding 97 percent.
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European Space Agency's Ariane 5 program cost approximately 7 billion euros to develop before its first successful orbital flight in 1997.
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Ariane 5's cargo bay measures 17.5 meters long and 4.6 meters in diameter, allowing it to carry two large satellites or one exceptionally massive payload simultaneously.
- 02
Two Ariane 5 rockets successfully launched the James Webb Space Telescope and its Ariane 5 ES variant can carry 21 metric tons to low Earth orbit, making it one of the world's most powerful operational launch vehicles.
- 01
During its maiden flight on June 4, 1996, Ariane 5 exploded 37 seconds after launch due to a software conversion error in the inertial reference system.