Ariane 5 ECA

The Ariane 5 with a cryogenic upper stage: the ESC-A, whose HM7B engine burns liquid hydrogen and oxygen, over a main stage driven by the more powerful Vulcain 2 and two solid boosters. Its first flight in 2002 failed; it then became Europe's workhorse to geostationary transfer orbit, often carrying two satellites at once. On 25 December 2021 it launched the James Webb Space Telescope from Kourou, so precisely that Webb kept enough propellant for well beyond its planned ten years.

Key figures

Builder

ArianeGroup

Status

Retired

First flight

2002

Last flight

2023

Diameter

5.4 m

Mass at launch

770 t

Liftoff thrust

15,120 kN

Payload to geostationary transfer orbit

10.9 t

Missions

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

Destinations

• JWST

Launch pads

• ELA-3 (2021, Modelled for James Webb)

All spacecraft