Ariane 44L
The 52nd Ariane 4 carrying TOPEX/Poseidon
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| Function | Expendable launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Arianespace |
| Country of origin | Europe |
| Size | |
| Height | 58.72 m (192.7 ft) |
| Diameter | 3.8 m (12.5 ft) |
| Mass | 240,000 - 470,000 kg (529,110 - 1,036,175 lb) |
| Stages | 2 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | 5,000 - 7,600 kg (11,024 - 16,756 lb) |
| Payload to GTO | 2,000 - 4,300 kg (4,410 - 9480 lb) |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch sites | Kourou ELA-2 |
| Total launches | 116 (40: 7, 42P: 15, 42L: 13) (44P: 15, 44LP: 26, 44L: 40) |
| Successes | 113 (40: 7, 42P: 14, 42L: 13) (44P: 15, 44LP: 25, 44L: 39) |
| Failures | 3 (42P: 1, 44L: 1, 44LP: 1) |
| First flight |
40: 22 January 1990 42P: 20 November 1990 42L: 12 May 1993 44P: 4 April 1991 44LP: 15 June 1988 44L: 5 June 1989 |
| Last flight |
40: 3 December 1999 42P: 4 May 2002 42L: 23 January 2002 44P: 25 September 2001 44LP: 27 November 2001 44L: 15 February 2003 |
| Boosters (Ariane 42L, 44LP or 44L) - PAL | |
| No. boosters | 0, 2 or 4 |
| Engines | Viking 6 |
| Thrust | 752.003 kN (169,057 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 278 sec |
| Burn time | 142 seconds |
| Fuel | N2O4/UDMH |
| Boosters (Ariane 42P, 44LP or 44P) - PAP | |
| No. boosters | 0, 2 or 4 |
| Thrust | 650 kN |
| Burn time | 33 sec |
| Fuel | CTPB 1613 |
| First stage - L220 | |
| Engines | 4 Viking 5C |
| Thrust | 3,034.1 kN |
| Specific impulse | 278 sec |
| Burn time | 205 sec |
| Fuel | N2O4/UDMH |
| Second stage - L33 | |
| Engines | 1 Viking 4B |
| Thrust | 720.965 kN |
| Specific impulse | 296 sec |
| Burn time | 132 seconds |
| Fuel | N2O4/UDMH |
| Third stage - H10 | |
| Engines | 1 HM7-B |
| Thrust | 62.703 kN |
| Specific impulse | 446 sec |
| Burn time | 759 seconds |
| Fuel | Lox/LH2 |
Ariane 4 was an expendable launch system, designed by the Centre national d'études spatiales and manufactured and marketed by its subsidiary Arianespace. Ariane 4 was justly known as the "workhorse" of the Ariane family. Since its first flight on 15 June 1988 until the last, on 15 February 2003, it made 113 successful launches. It was known to be an extremely versatile launcher.
The Ariane 4 proved ideal for launching communications and Earth observation satellites as well as those for scientific research. During its working life, Ariane 4 captured 50% of the market in launching commercial satellites, demonstrating Europe's ability to compete in the commercial launch sector.
In 1973 eleven countries, called together by the European Space Agency (ESA), decided to take Europe down its own path in the space field. Six years later in 1979, Ariane 1 was launched from Kourou. Following development work on variants 1, 2 and 3, Ariane 4 was able to draw on the experience gained from these earlier variants.
The development program began in 1983 and the first successful launch was on 15 June 1988. The system became the basis for a European satellite launches with a record of 113 successful and three launch failures. Ariane 4 provided a payload increase from 1700 kg for Ariane 3 to a maximum of 4800 kg to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). The record for Ariane 4 to GTO was 4946 kg.
The Ariane 4 Launch Team was awarded the Space Achievement Award by the Space Foundation in 2004.
The Ariane 4 was the ultimate development from the Ariane 1,2,3. Compared with the Ariane 2/3, the Ariane 4 featured stretched first (61%) and third stages, a strengthened structure, new propulsion bay layouts, new avionics, and the SPELDA (Structure Porteuse Externe de Lancement Double Ariane) dual-payload carrier. The basic 40 version used no strap-on motors, while the Ariane 42L, 44L, 42P, 44P, and 44LP versions used various combinations of solid and liquid boosters. Development was authorised in January 1982, with the objective of increasing payload by 90%. Total development cost 476 million 1986 ECU's.
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