Over the past 27 years, the Ariane 5 launch vehicle has made an impressive 117 successful launches, but now it’s time for a change. On July 6, 2023, its final flight took place, during which two satellites were put into orbit.
The first satellite to take to the skies was Germany’s Heinrich-Hertz-Satellite, a civilian communications satellite, Pro-gadgets followed by France’s Syracuse 4B military communications vehicle. Immediately after separating from the rocket, they activated their engines and started heading towards a circular geostationary orbit at an altitude of 35,700 kilometers.
But that’s not the end of it. The remarkable Ariane 5, built by Airbus Defense and Space and operated primarily for the European Space Agency, is preparing to pass the baton to its successor, the Ariane 6 launch vehicle. Scientists and engineers are now actively working on the development of the new rocket.
A special feature of Ariane 5 was the ability to simultaneously put into orbit several spacecraft from different customers, which significantly reduced the cost for each of the participants. This fact, as well as the outstanding reliability of the rocket, contributed to the company Arianespace profitable orders for the launch of especially important and expensive spacecraft, including, for example, the famous James Webb telescope worth 10 billion dollars.
In addition, among the recent successful launches of Ariane 5 rocket it is worth noting the launch of the Juice research probe into space, which is designed for in-depth study of the planet Jupiter and its satellites.
With the arrival of Ariane 6, the upcoming space missions promise to be even more exciting, and the new rocket will certainly continue the deserved glory of its predecessor and open new horizons for space exploration.
