Ariane
Ariane is a family of European-made rockets, initially manufactured by a consortium of the European Space Agency (ESA), made up of France (64%), Germany (20%), Italy (10%), United Kingdom (5%), Spain (2%) and other countries (7%), as well as for the launch of satellites, in geostationary orbit and the Giotto space probe. The first launch of an Ariane rocket was carried out on December 24, 1979, with a three-stage launcher, 47 meters long and with a force capable of placing a maximum payload of 2,580 kg into geostationary orbit.
The launch base for this type of rocket is in Kourou (French Guiana). In 1980, the construction of these vectors was transferred to the Arianespace company, which improved these vehicles with the Ariane 4 series, with three stages, the first with 4 engines and the next two with one, with the capacity to couple four auxiliary thrusters. more, and throw a load of up to 4200 kg. The family of launchers has rapidly taken over a significant share of the market for launching satellites into geostationary orbit. In 2009, the Ariane shuttle held 50% of the market.
The current version is the Ariane 5 model, with a greater payload and developed with a view to launching manned vehicles commanded by the European Hermes shuttle (finally canceled program) and to carrying out the installation program for a lunar base using the LEDA soft landing program. Versions:
- Ariane 1, first take off successfully December 24, 1979
- Ariane 2, first take off successfully 20 November 1987 (off on 30 May 1986)
- Ariane 3, first take off successfully 4 August 1984
- Ariane 4, first take off successfully 15 June 1988
- Ariane 5, first takeoff successfully 30 October 1997 (off on 4 June 1996).
- Ariane 6, currently under development, previews the first release for 2022.
- Ariane Next, currently developing tech showcases, previews the first release for the 2030s.
The failed takeoff of Ariane 5 (flight 501) is considered one of the worst software errors in history.
In its different versions, Ariane rockets have been present in several programs such as:
- Hispasat (European)
- INMARSAT
- MUSES (Japanese)
- KOSESAT (Korean)
- SAC (Argentine)