![]() The original Ariane - Ariane 5G - used the EPS ( Étage à Propergols Stockables - Storable Propellant Stage), which was fueled by monomethylhydrazine (MMH) and nitrogen tetroxide, containing 10,000 kg (22,000 lb) of storable propellant. The second stage is on top of the main stage and below the payload. In February 2000, the suspected nose cone of an Ariane 5 booster washed ashore on the South Texas coast, and was recovered by beachcombers before the government could get to it. The French M51 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) shares a substantial amount of technology with these boosters. Prior to that mission, the last such recovery and testing was done in 2003. One of the two boosters was successfully recovered and returned to the Guiana Space Center for analysis. The most recent attempt was for the first Ariane 5 ECA mission in 2009. Unlike Space Shuttle SRBs, Ariane 5 boosters are not reused. The SRBs are usually allowed to sink to the bottom of the ocean, but, like the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters, they can be recovered with parachutes, and this has occasionally been done for post-flight analysis. They each burn for 130 seconds before being dropped into the ocean. They are fueled by a mix of ammonium perchlorate (68%) and aluminium fuel (18%) and HTPB (14%). After the main cryogenic stage runs out of fuel, it re-enters the atmosphere for an ocean splashdown.Īttached to the sides are two P241 (P238 for Ariane 5G and G+) solid rocket boosters (SRBs or EAPs from the French Étages d'Accélération à Poudre), each weighing about 277 t (611,000 lb) full and delivering a thrust of about 7,080 kN (1,590,000 lb f). It consists of a 5.4 m (18 ft) diameter by 30.5 m (100 ft) high tank with two compartments, one for liquid oxygen and one for liquid hydrogen, and a Vulcain 2 engine at the base with a vacuum thrust of 1,390 kN (310,000 lb f). Vehicle description Cryogenic main stage Īriane 5's cryogenic H173 main stage (H158 for Ariane 5G, G+, and GS) is called the EPC ( Étage Principal Cryotechnique - Cryotechnic Main Stage). Up to eight secondary payloads, usually small experiment packages or minisatellites, can be carried with an ASAP (Ariane Structure for Auxiliary Payloads) platform.įollowing the launch of 15 August 2020, Arianespace signed the contracts for the last eight Ariane 5 launches, before it is succeeded by the new Ariane 6 launcher, according to Daniel Neuenschwander, director of space transportation at the ESA. Up to three, somewhat smaller, main satellites are possible depending on size using a SPELTRA ( Structure Porteuse Externe Lancement Triple Ariane, which translates to "Ariane Triple-Launch External Carrier Structure"). The system has a commonly used dual-launch capability, where up to two large geostationary belt communication satellites can be mounted using a SYLDA ( Système de Lancement Double Ariane, meaning "Ariane Double-Launch System") carrier system. Since its first launch, Ariane 5 has been refined in successive versions: "G", "G+", "GS", "ECA", and most recently, "ES". Ariane 5 was originally intended to launch the Hermes spacecraft, and thus it is rated for human space launches. ArianeGroup is the prime contractor for the manufacturing of the vehicles, leading a multi-country consortium of other European contractors. Despite not being a direct derivative of its predecessor launch vehicle program, it is classified as part of the Ariane rocket family. ![]() The system was designed as an expendable launch system by the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), the French government's space agency, in cooperation with various European partners. Since 2014, Ariane 6, a direct successor system, is in development. The launch vehicle had a streak of 82 consecutive successful launches between 9 April 2003 and 12 December 2017. ![]() It has been used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) or low Earth orbit (LEO). It is launched from the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) in French Guiana. Ariane 5 is a European heavy-lift space launch vehicle developed and operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA).
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