Ariane 5 ES with ATV-4 on board on its way to the launch pad
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Function | Heavy launch vehicle |
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Manufacturer |
Airbus Defence and Space for ESA and Arianespace |
Cost per launch |
$165—220M 20 ESA member states
|
Size | |
Height | 46–52 m (151–171 ft) |
Diameter | 5.4 m (18 ft) |
Mass | 777,000 kg (1,713,000 lb) |
Stages | 2 |
Capacity | |
Payload to LEO (260 km (162 mi) circular, 51.6˚) |
G: 16,000 kg (35,000 lb) ES: over 20,000 kg (44,000 lb) |
Payload to GTO |
G: 6,950 kg (15,320 lb) G+: 6,950 kg (15,320 lb) GS: 6,100 kg (13,400 lb) ECA: 10,500 kg (23,100 lb) (effective record 10,735 kg (23,667 lb) on 24 August 2016) |
Associated rockets | |
Family | Ariane |
Launch history | |
Status | Active |
Launch sites | Guiana Space Centre ELA-3 |
Total launches | 91 (G: 16, G+: 3, GS: 6) (ECA: 60, ES: 6) |
Successes | 87 (G: 13, G+: 3, GS: 6) (ECA: 59, ES: 6) |
Failures | 2 (G: 1, ECA: 1) |
Partial failures | 2 (G) |
First flight |
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Last flight |
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Notable payloads | |
Boosters (G, G+) - EAP P238 | |
No. boosters | 2 |
Length | 31.6 m (104 ft) |
Diameter | 3.06 m (10.0 ft) |
Gross mass | 270 tonnes (300 tons) |
Engines | P238 |
Thrust | 6,650 kN (1,490,000 lbf) |
Total thrust | 13,300 kN (3,000,000 lbf) |
Burn time | 130s |
Fuel | AP, Al, HTPB |
Boosters (GS, ECA, ES) - EAP P241 | |
No. boosters | 2 |
Length | 31.6 m (104 ft) |
Diameter | 3.06 m (10.0 ft) |
Empty mass | 33 tonnes (36 tons) |
Gross mass | 273 tonnes (301 tons) |
Engines | P241 |
Thrust | 7,080 kN (1,590,000 lbf) |
Total thrust | 14,160 kN (3,180,000 lbf) |
Burn time | 140s |
Fuel | AP, Al, HTPB |
Core stage (G, G+, GS) - EPC H158 | |
Length | 23.8 m (78 ft) |
Diameter | 5.4 m (18 ft) |
Empty mass | 12,200 kg (26,900 lb) |
Gross mass | 170,500 kg (375,900 lb) |
Engines | G, G+: Vulcain 1 GS: Vulcain 1B |
Thrust | 1,015 kN (228,000 lbf) (vacuum) |
Specific impulse | 440s (vacuum) |
Burn time | 605s |
Fuel | LOX / LH2 |
Core stage (ECA, ES) - EPC H173 | |
Length | 23.8 m (78 ft) |
Diameter | 5.4 m (18 ft) |
Empty mass | 14,700 kg (32,400 lb) |
Gross mass | 184,700 kg (407,200 lb) |
Engines | Vulcain 2 |
Thrust | 960 kN (220,000 lbf) (sea level) 1,390 kN (310,000 lbf) (vacuum) |
Specific impulse | 310s (sea level) 432 (vacuum) |
Burn time | 540s |
Fuel | LOX / LH2 |
Second stage (G) - EPS L9.7 | |
Length | 3.4 m (11 ft) |
Diameter | 5.4 m (18 ft) |
Empty mass | 1,200 kg (2,600 lb) |
Gross mass | 10,900 kg (24,000 lb) |
Engines | Aestus |
Thrust | 27 kN (6,100 lbf) |
Burn time | 1100s |
Fuel | MMH / N2O4 |
Second stage (G+, GS, ES) - EPS L10 | |
Length | 3.4 m (11 ft) |
Diameter | 5.4 m (18 ft) |
Empty mass | 1,200 kg (2,600 lb) |
Gross mass | 11,200 kg (24,700 lb) |
Engines | Aestus |
Thrust | 27 kN (6,100 lbf) |
Burn time | 1170 |
Fuel | MMH / N2O4 |
Second stage (ECA) - EPS ESC-A | |
Length | 4.711 m (15.46 ft) |
Diameter | 5.4 m (18 ft) |
Empty mass | 4,540 kg (10,010 lb) |
Gross mass | 19,440 kg (42,860 lb) |
Engines | HM7B |
Thrust | 67 kN (15,000 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 446s |
Burn time | 945s |
Fuel | LOX / LH2 |
$165—220M
Ariane 5 is a European heavy lift launch vehicle that is part of the Ariane rocket family, an expendable launch system used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) or low Earth orbit (LEO). Ariane 5 rockets are manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales. Airbus Defence and Space is the prime contractor for the vehicles, leading a consortium of sub-contractors. Ariane 5 is operated and marketed by Arianespace as part of the Ariane programme. Airbus Defence and Space builds the rockets in Europe and Arianespace launches them from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana.
Ariane 5 succeeded Ariane 4, but was not derived from it directly. Ariane 5 has been refined since the first launch in successive versions, "G", "G+", "GS", "ECA", and most recently, "ES". ESA originally designed Ariane 5 to launch the Hermes spaceplane, and thus intended it to be human rated from the beginning.
Two satellites can be mounted using a SYLDA carrier (SYstème de Lancement Double Ariane). Three main satellites are possible depending on size using SPELTRA (Structure Porteuse Externe Lancement TRiple Ariane). Up to eight secondary payloads, usually small experiment packages or minisatellites, can be carried with an ASAP (Ariane Structure for Auxiliary Payloads) platform.