Ariane 5

Europe's heavy launcher, flown from Kourou in French Guiana: a cryogenic main stage with a single Vulcain engine between two large solid boosters that gave most of the liftoff thrust. Its first flight in 1996 failed, then it became one of the most reliable rockets of its time, with 82 consecutive successes. Over 117 flights until 2023 it launched Rosetta toward its comet in 2004 and the James Webb Space Telescope in 2021.

Key figures

Builder

ArianeGroup

Status

Retired

First flight

1996

Last flight

2023

Diameter

5.4 m

Payload to geostationary transfer orbit

6.95 t

Flights

117

Missions

• Rosetta: The Complete Mission in Real-Time 3D

Destinations

• 67P

Launch pads

• ELA-3 (2004, Modelled for Rosetta)

All spacecraft