Ariane IV

Ariane 4

The 52nd Ariane 4 carrying TOPEX/Poseidon
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

The Ariane 4 was an expendable launch system, designed by the Centre national d'études spatiales while being manufactured and marketed by its subsidiary Arianespace. The launcher became justly known as the "workhorse" of the Ariane family. Since its first flight on 15 June 1988 until the final flight, which was performed on 15 February 2003, it attained 113 successful launches out of 116 launches to have been conducted.

In 1982, the Ariane 4 programme was approved by the European Space Agency (ESA). Drawing heavily upon the preceding Ariane 3, it was designed to provide a launcher capable of delivering heavier payloads and at a lower cost per kilogram than the earlier members of the Ariane family. The Ariane 4 was principally an evolution of the existing technologies used, as opposed to being revolutionary in its design ethos; this approach quickly gained the backing of most ESA members, who funded and participated in its development and operation. Capable of being equipped with a wide variety of strap-on boosters, the Ariane 4 gained a reputation for being an extremely versatile launcher.

Once in service, the launcher soon became recognised for being ideal for launching communications and Earth observation satellites, as well as those used for scientific research. During its working life, the Ariane 4 managed to capture 50 per cent of the market in launching commercial satellites, soundly demonstrating Europe's ability to compete in the commercial launch sector. In February 2003, the final Ariane 4 was launched; Arianespace had decided to retire the type in favour of the newer and larger Ariane 5, which effectively replaced it in service.

In 1973, eleven nations decided to pursue joint collaboration in the field of space exploration and formed a new pan-national organisation to undertake this mission, the European Space Agency (ESA). Six years later, in December 1979, the arrival of a capable European expendable launch system was marked when the first Ariane 1 launcher was successfully launched from the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou, French Guiana. The Ariane 1 soon became considered to be a capable and competitive launcher in comparison to rival platforms offered by the Soviet Union and the United States of America, and it was quickly followed by improved derivatives in the form of the Ariane 2 and Ariane 3. By early 1986, the Ariane 1, along with the Ariane 2 and Ariane 3, had become the dominant launcher on the world market.