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Ariane 5 () is a retired European heavy-lift space launch vehicle operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was launched from the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in French Guiana. It was used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), low Earth orbit (LEO) or further into space. The launch vehicle had a streak of 82 consecutive successful launches between 9 April 2003 and 12 December 2017. In development since 2014, Ariane 6, a direct successor system was first launched in 2024.
The system was designed as an expendable launch vehicle by the CNES (CNES), the French government's space agency, in cooperation with various European partners. Despite not being a direct derivative of its predecessor launch vehicle program, it was classified as part of the Ariane rocket family. Aérospatiale, and later ArianeGroup, was the prime contractor for the manufacturing of the vehicles, leading a multi-country consortium of other European contractors. Ariane 5 was originally intended to launch the Hermes spacecraft, and thus it was rated for human space launches.
Since its first launch, Ariane 5 was refined in successive versions: "G", "G+", "GS", "ECA", and finally, "ES". The system had 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. 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"). Up to eight secondary payloads, usually small experiment packages or minisatellites, could be carried with an ASAP (Ariane Structure for Auxiliary Payloads) platform.
Following the launch of 15 August 2020, Arianespace signed the contracts for the last eight Ariane 5 launches, before it was succeeded by the new Ariane 6 launcher, according to Daniel Neuenschwander, director of space transportation at the ESA. Ariane 5 flew its final mission on 5 July 2023.
The French M51 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) shared a substantial amount of technology with these boosters.
In February 2000, the suspected nose cone of an Ariane 5 booster washed ashore on the South Texas coast, and was recovered by Beachcombing before the government could get to it.
The EPS upper stage was capable of repeated ignition, first demonstrated during flight V26 which was launched on 5 October 2007. This was purely to test the engine, and occurred after the payloads had been deployed. The first operational use of restart capability as part of a mission came on 9 March 2008, when two burns were made to deploy the first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) into a circular parking orbit, followed by a third burn after ATV deployment to de-orbit the stage. This procedure was repeated for all subsequent ATV flights.
Ariane 5ECA used the ESC ( Étage Supérieur Cryotechnique — Cryogenic Upper Stage), which was fueled by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The ESC used the HM7B engine previously used in the Ariane 4 third stage. The propellent load of 14.7 tonne allowed the engine to burn for 945 seconds while providing 6.5 tonne of thrust. The ESC provided roll control during powered flight and full attitude control during payload separation using hydrogen gas thrusters. Oxygen gas thrusters allowed longitudinal acceleration after engine cutoff. The flight assembly included the Vehicle Equipment Bay, with flight electronics for the entire rocket, and the payload interface and structural support.European Space Agency, "Ariane 5ECA": http://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation/Launch_vehicles/Ariane_5_ECA2 Discussed in context of other launch vehicles in Gérard Maral, Michel Bousquet, and Zhili Sun, Satellite Communications Systems: Systems, Techniques and Technology, sixth edition, London: Wiley, 2020
The heavier satellite was launched in the upper position on a typical dual-satellite Ariane 5 launch and was priced higher than the lower satellite, on the order of €90 million .
Total launch price of an Ariane 5 – which could transport up to two satellites to space, one in the "upper" and one in the "lower" positions – was around €150 million .
The Ariane 5ME was to use a new upper stage, with increased propellant volume, powered by the new Vinci engine. Unlike the HM-7B engine, it was to be able to restart several times, allowing for complex orbital maneuvers such as insertion of two satellites into different orbits, direct insertion into geosynchronous orbit, planetary exploration missions, and guaranteed upper stage deorbiting or insertion into graveyard orbit. The launcher was also to include a lengthened fairing up to and a new dual launch system to accommodate larger satellites. Compared to an Ariane 5ECA model, the payload to GTO was to increase by 15% to and the cost-per-kilogram of each launch was projected to decline by 20%.
In 2009, EADS Astrium was awarded a €200 million contract, and on 10 April 2012 received another €112 million contract to continue development of the Ariane 5ME with total development effort expected to cost €1 billion.
On 21 November 2012, ESA agreed to continue with the Ariane 5ME to meet the challenge of lower priced competitors. It was agreed the Vinci upper stage would also be used as the second stage of a new Ariane 6, and further commonality would be sought. Ariane 5ME qualification flight was scheduled for mid-2018, followed by gradual introduction into service.
On 2 December 2014, ESA decided to stop funding the development of Ariane 5ME and instead focus on Ariane 6, which was expected to have a lower cost per launch and allow more flexibility in the payloads (using two or four P120C solid boosters depending on total payload mass).
These developments could maybe have made their way back into the Ariane programme, but this was most likely an inference based on early blueprints of the Ariane 6 having a central P80 booster and 2-4 around the main one. The incorporation of the ESC-B with the improvements to the solid motor casing and an uprated Vulcain engine would have delivered to LEO. This would have been developed for any lunar missions but the performance of such a design might not have been possible if the higher Max Q for the launch of this launch vehicle would have posed a constraint on the mass delivered to orbit.
Initially development of Ariane 6 was projected to cost €3.6 billion. In 2017, the ESA set 16 July 2020 as the deadline for the first flight. The Ariane 6 successfully completed its maiden flight on 9 July 2024.
The second test flight (L502, on 30 October 1997) was a partial failure. The Vulcain nozzle caused a roll problem, leading to premature shutdown of the core stage. The upper stage operated successfully, but it could not reach the intended orbit. A subsequent test flight (L503, on 21 October 1998) proved successful and the first commercial launch (L504) occurred on 10 December 1999 with the launch of the XMM-Newton X-ray observatory satellite.
Another partial failure occurred on 12 July 2001, with the delivery of two satellites into an incorrect orbit, at only half the height of the intended GTO. The ESA Artemis telecommunications satellite was able to reach its intended orbit on 31 January 2003, through the use of its experimental ion propulsion system.
The next launch did not occur until 1 March 2002, when the Envisat environmental satellite successfully reached an orbit of above the Earth in the 11th launch. At , it was the heaviest single payload until the launch of the first ATV on 9 March 2008, at .
The first launch of the ECA variant on 11 December 2002 ended in failure when a main booster problem caused the rocket to veer off-course, forcing its self-destruction three minutes into the flight. Its payload of two communications satellites (STENTOR and Hot Bird 7), valued at about €630 million, was lost in the Atlantic Ocean. The fault was determined to have been caused by a leak in coolant pipes allowing the nozzle to overheat. After this failure, Arianespace delayed the expected January 2003 launch for the Rosetta mission to 26 February 2004, but this was again delayed to early March 2004 due to a minor fault in the foam that protects the cryogenic tanks on the Ariane 5. The failure of the first ECA launch was the last failure of an Ariane 5 until flight 241 in January 2018.
On 27 September 2003, the last Ariane 5G boosted three satellites (including the first European lunar probe, SMART-1), in Flight 162. On 18 July 2004, an Ariane 5G+ boosted what was at the time the heaviest telecommunication satellite ever, Anik F2, weighing almost .
The first successful launch of the Ariane 5ECA took place on 12 February 2005. The payload consisted of the XTAR-EUR military communications satellite, a 'SLOSHSAT' small scientific satellite and a MaqSat B2 payload simulator. The launch had been scheduled for October 2004, but additional testing and a military launch (of a Helios 2A observation satellite) delayed the attempt.
On 11 August 2005, the first Ariane 5GS (featuring the Ariane 5ECA's improved solid motors) boosted Thaicom 4, the heaviest telecommunications satellite to date at , into orbit.
On 16 November 2005, the third Ariane 5ECA launch (the second successful ECA launch) took place. It carried a dual payload consisting of Spaceway F2 for DirecTV and Telkom-2 for Telkom Indonesia of Indonesia. This was the launch vehicle's heaviest dual payload to date, at more than .
On 27 May 2006, an Ariane 5ECA launch vehicle set a new commercial payload lifting record of . The dual-payload consisted of the Thaicom 5 and Satmex 6 satellites.
On 4 May 2007, the Ariane 5ECA set another new commercial record, lifting into transfer orbit the Astra 1L and Galaxy 17 communication satellites with a combined weight of , and a total payload weight of . This record was again broken by another Ariane 5ECA, launching the Skynet 5B and Star One C1 satellites, on 11 November 2007. The total payload weight for this launch was of .
On 9 March 2008, the first Ariane 5ES-ATV was launched to deliver the first ATV called Jules Verne to the International Space Station (ISS). The ATV was the heaviest payload ever launched by a European launch vehicle, providing supplies to the space station with necessary propellant, water, air and dry cargo. This was the first operational Ariane mission which involved an engine restart in the upper stage. The ES-ATV Aestus EPS upper stage was restartable while the ECA HM7-B engine was not.
On 1 July 2009, an Ariane 5ECA launched TerreStar-1 (now EchoStar T1), which was then, at , the largest and most massive commercial telecommunication satellite ever built at that time until being overtaken by Telstar 19 Vantage, at , launched aboard Falcon 9. The satellite was launched into a lower-energy orbit than a usual GTO, with its initial apogee at roughly .
On 28 October 2010, an Ariane 5ECA launched Eutelsat's W3B (part of its W Series of satellites) and Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT)'s BSAT-3b satellites into orbit. But the W3B satellite failed to operate shortly after the successful launch and was written off as a total loss due to an oxidizer leak in the satellite's main propulsion system. The BSAT-3b satellite, however, is operating normally.
The VA253 launch on 15 August 2020 introduced two small changes that increased lift capacity by about ; these were a lighter avionics and guidance-equipment bay, and modified pressure vents on the payload fairing, which were required for the subsequent launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. It also debuted a location system using Galileo navigation satellites.
On 25 December 2021, VA256 launched the James Webb Space Telescope towards a Sun–Earth L2 halo orbit. The precision of trajectory following launch led to fuel savings credited with potentially doubling the lifetime of the telescope by leaving more hydrazine propellant on board for station-keeping than was expected. According to Rudiger Albat, the program manager for Ariane 5, efforts had been made to select components for this flight that had performed especially well during pre-flight testing, including "one of the best Vulcain engines that we've ever built."
Vehicle description
Cryogenic main stage
Ariane 5's Cryogenics H173 main stage (H158 for Ariane 5G, G+, and GS) was called the EPC ( Étage Principal Cryotechnique — Cryotechnic Main Stage). It consisted of a diameter by 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 . The H173 EPC weighed about , including of propellant. After the main cryogenic stage runs out of fuel, it re-entered the atmosphere for an ocean splashdown.
Solid boosters
Attached to the sides were 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 full and delivering a thrust of about . They were fueled by a mix of ammonium perchlorate (68%) and aluminium fuel (18%) and HTPB (14%). They each burned for 130 seconds before being dropped into the ocean. The SRBs were usually allowed to sink to the bottom of the ocean, but, like the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters, they could be recovered with parachutes, and this was occasionally done for post-flight analysis. Unlike Space Shuttle SRBs, Ariane 5 boosters were not reused. The most recent attempt was for the first Ariane 5 ECA mission in 2009. One of the two boosters was successfully recovered and returned to the Guiana Space Center for analysis. Prior to that mission, the last such recovery and testing was done in 2003.
Second stage
The second stage was on top of the main stage and below the payload. 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 of storable propellant. The EPS was subsequently improved for use on the Ariane 5G+, GS, and ES.
Fairing
The payload and all upper stages were covered at launch by a fairing for aerodynamic stability and protection from heating during supersonic flight and acoustic loads. It was jettisoned once sufficient altitude has been reached, typically above . It was made by RUAG Space and since flight VA-238 it was composed of 4 panels.
Launch preparations
With the exception of the solid rocket boosters (for safety and cost reasons), the components were assembled in Europe, and then shipped to French Guyana by boat. Once at Kourou, the components were assembled in the Launcher Integration Building (BIL), then transferred into the Final Assembly Building (BAF) for mating the payload and fairing, before the completed rocket was transferred to the Launch Zone (ZL) for fueling and launch.
Variants
G The original version was dubbed Ariane 5G (Generic) and had a launch mass of . Its payload capability to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) was for a single satellite or for dual launches. It flew 16 times with one failure and two partial failures.
G+ The Ariane 5G+ had an improved EPS second stage, with a GTO capacity of for a single payload or for two. It flew three times in 2004, with no failures.
GS At the time of the failure of the first Ariane 5ECA flight in 2002, all Ariane 5 launchers in production were ECA versions. Some of the ECA cores were modified to use the original Vulcain engine and tank volumes while the failure was investigated; these vehicles were designated Ariane 5GS. The GS used the improved EAP boosters of the ECA variant and the improved EPS of the G+ variant, but the increased mass of the modified ECA core compared to the G and G+ core resulted in slightly reduced payload capacity. Ariane 5GS could carry a single payload of or a dual payload of to GTO. The Ariane 5GS flew 6 times from 2005 to 2009 with no failures.
ECA The Ariane 5ECA ( Evolution Cryotechnique type A), first flown in 2002 but ending in failure, and first successfully flown in 2005, used an improved Vulcain 2 first-stage engine with a longer, more efficient nozzle with a more efficient flow cycle and denser propellant ratio. The new ratio required length modifications to the first-stage tanks. The EPS second stage was replaced by the ESC-A ( Etage Supérieur Cryogénique-A), which had a dry weight of and was powered by an HM-7B engine burning of cryogenic propellant. The ESC-A used the liquid oxygen tank and lower structure from the Ariane 4's H10 third stage, mated to a new liquid hydrogen tank. Additionally, the EAP booster casings were lightened with new welds and carry more propellant. The Ariane 5ECA started with a GTO launch capacity of for dual payloads or for a single payload. Later batches: PB+ and PC, increased the max payload to GTO to . The Ariane 5 ECA flew 72 times from 2002 to 2019 with one failure and one partial failure. ECA+ The Ariane 5ECA+ ( Evolution Cryotechnique type A+), first successfully flown in 2019, used an improved ESC-D ( Etage Supérieur Cryogénique-D). ES The Ariane 5ES ( Evolution Storable) had an estimated LEO launch capacity of . It included all the performance improvements of Ariane 5ECA core and boosters but replaced the ESC-A second stage with the restartable EPS used on Ariane 5GS variants. It was used to launch the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) into a circular low Earth orbit inclined at 51.6° and was used 3 times to launch 4 Galileo navigation satellites at a time directly into their operational orbit. The Ariane 5ES flew 8 times from 2008 to 2018 with no failures. ME
(cancelled)The Ariane 5ME ( Mid-life Evolution) was under development until December 2014 when funding was cut in favour of developing Ariane 6. Last activities for Ariane 5ME were completed at the end of 2015. Vinci upper stage engine, under development for the 5ME, transferred to Ariane 6.
Launch pricing and market competition
, the Ariane 5 commercial launch price for launching a "midsize satellite in the lower position" was approximately €50 million, competing for commercial launches in an increasingly competitive market.
Cancelled plans for future developments
Ariane 5 ME
The Ariane 5 ME (Mid-life Evolution) was in development into early 2015, and was seen as a stopgap between Ariane 5ECA/Ariane 5ES and the new Ariane 6. With first flight planned for 2018, it would have become ESA's principal launcher until the arrival of the new Ariane 6 version. ESA halted funding for the development of Ariane 5ME in late 2014 to prioritize development of Ariane 6.
Development
Originally known as the Ariane 5 ECB, Ariane 5ME was to have its first flight in 2006. However, the failure of the first ECA flight in 2002, combined with a deteriorating satellite industry, caused ESA to cancel development in 2003. Development of the Vinci engine continued, though at a lower pace. The ESA Council of Ministers agreed to fund development of the new upper stage in November 2008.
Solid propellant stage
Work on the Ariane 5 EAP motors was continued in the Vega programme. The Vega 1st stage engine – the P80 engine – was a shorter derivation of the EAP. (2026). 9781433015328, Int'l Business Publications. ISBN 9781433015328 The P80 booster casing was made of filament wound graphite epoxy, much lighter than the current stainless steel casing. A new composite steerable nozzle was developed while new thermal insulation material and a narrower throat improved the expansion ratio and subsequently the overall performance. Additionally, the nozzle had electromechanical actuators which replaced the heavier hydraulic ones used for thrust vector control.
Ariane 6
The design brief of the next generation launch vehicle Ariane 6 called for a lower-cost and smaller launch vehicle capable of launching a single satellite of up to to GTO. However, after several permutations the finalized design was nearly identical in performance to the Ariane 5, focusing instead on lowering fabrication costs and launch prices. , Ariane 6 was projected to be launched for about €70 million per flight, about half of the Ariane 5 price.
Notable launches
Ariane 5's first test flight (Ariane 5 Flight 501) on 4 June 1996 failed, with the rocket self-destructing 37 seconds after launch because of a malfunction in the control software. A data conversion from 64-bit floating-point value to 16-bit signedness integer value to be stored in a variable representing horizontal bias caused a processor trap (operand error) because the floating-point value was too large to be represented by a 16-bit signed integer. The software had been written for the Ariane 4 where efficiency considerations (the computer running the software had an 80% maximum workload requirement) led to four variables being protected with a handler while three others, including the horizontal bias variable, were left unprotected because it was thought that they were "physically limited or that there was a large margin of safety". The software, written in Ada, was included in the Ariane 5 through the reuse of an entire Ariane 4 subsystem despite the fact that the particular software containing the bug, which was just a part of the subsystem, was not required by the Ariane 5 because it has a different preparation sequence than the Ariane 4.
GTO payload weight records
On 22 April 2011, the Ariane 5ECA flight VA-201 broke a commercial record, lifting Yahsat 1A and Intelsat New Dawn with a total payload weight of to transfer orbit. This record was later broken again during the launch of Ariane 5ECA flight VA-208 on 2 August 2012, lifting a total of into the planned geosynchronous transfer orbit, which was broken again 6 months later on flight VA-212 with sent towards geosynchronous transfer orbit. In June 2016, the GTO record was raised to , on the first rocket in history that carried a satellite dedicated to financial institutions. The payload record was pushed a further , up to on 24 August 2016 with the launch of Intelsat 33e and Intelsat 36. On 1 June 2017, the payload record was broken again to carrying ViaSat-2 and Eutelsat. In 2021 VA-255 put 11,210 kg into GTO.
VA241 anomaly
On 25 January 2018, an Ariane 5ECA launched SES-14 and Al Yah 3 satellites. About 9 minutes and 28 seconds after launch, a telemetry loss occurred between the launch vehicle and the ground controllers. It was later confirmed, about 1 hour and 20 minutes after launch, that both satellites were successfully separated from the upper stage and were in contact with their respective ground controllers, but that their orbital inclinations were incorrect as the guidance systems might have been compromised. Therefore, both satellites conducted orbital procedures, extending commissioning time. SES-14 needed about 8 weeks longer than planned commissioning time, meaning that entry into service was reported early September instead of July. Nevertheless, SES-14 is still expected to be able to meet the designed lifetime. This satellite was originally to be launched with more propellant reserve on a Falcon 9 launch vehicle since the Falcon 9, in this specific case, was intended to deploy this satellite into a high inclination orbit that would require more work from the satellite to reach its final geostationary orbit. The Al Yah 3 was also confirmed healthy after more than 12 hours without further statement, and like SES-14, Al Yah 3's maneuvering plan was also revised to still fulfill the original mission. As of 16 February 2018, Al Yah 3 was approaching the intended geostationary orbit, after series of recovery maneuvers had been performed. The investigation showed that invalid inertial units' azimuth value had sent the vehicle 17° off course but to the intended altitude, they had been programmed for the standard geostationary transfer orbit of 90° when the payloads were intended to be 70° for this supersynchronous transfer orbit mission, 20° off norme. This mission anomaly ended the 82 consecutive launch success streak from 2003.
Launch history
Launch statistics
Ariane 5 launch vehicles had accumulated 117 launches, 112 of which were successful, yielding a success rate. Between April 2003 and December 2017, Ariane 5 flew 83 consecutive missions without failure, but the launch vehicle suffered a partial failure in January 2018.
Rocket configurations
Launch outcomes
List of launches
All launches are from Guiana Space Centre, ELA-3.
1
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-88 4 June 1996
12:34G
501Cluster range safety. 2
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-101 30 October 1997
13:43G
502MaqSat-H, TEAMSAT, MaqSat-B, YES V-112 21 October 1998
16:37G
503MaqSat 3, ARD ~6,800 kg GTO V-119 10 December 1999
14:32G
504XMM-Newton 3,800 kg HEO V-128 21 March 2000
23:28G
505INSAT-3B
AsiaStar~5,800 kg GTO V-130 14 September 2000
22:54G
506Astra 2B
GE-7~4,700 kg GTO 7
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-135 16 November 2000
01:07G
507PanAmSat-1R
Amsat-P3D
STRV 1C
STRV 1D~6,600 kg GTO 8
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-138 20 December 2000
00:26G
508Astra 2D
GE-8
LDREX~4,700 kg GTO 9
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-140 8 March 2001
22:51G
509Eurobird-1
BSAT-2a~5,400 kg GTO 10
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-142 12 July 2001
21:58G
510Artemis
BSAT-2b~5,400 kg GTO (planned)
MEO (achieved) V-145 1 March 2002
01:07G
511Envisat 8,111 kg SSO V-153 5 July 2002
23:22G
512Stellat 5
N-STAR c~6,700 kg GTO 13
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-155 28 August 2002
22:45G
513Atlantic Bird 1
MSG-1
MFD~5,800 kg GTO 14
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-157 11 December 2002
22:22ECA
517Hot Bird 7
STENTOR
MFD-A
MFD-B GTO (planned) range safety. 15
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-160 9 April 2003
22:52G
514INSAT-3A
Galaxy 12~5,700 kg GTO 16
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-161 11 June 2003
22:38G
515Optus C1
BSAT-2c~7,100 kg GTO 17
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-162 27 September 2003
23:14G
516INSAT-3E
eBird-1
SMART-1~5,600 kg GTO V-158 2 March 2004
07:17G+
518Rosetta
Philae3,011 kg Heliocentric V-163 18 July 2004
00:44G+
519Anik F2 5,950 kg GTO 20
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-165 18 December 2004
16:26G+
520Helios 2A
Essaim-1
Essaim-2
Essaim-3
Essaim-4
PARASOL
Nanosat 014,200 kg SSO V-164 12 February 2005
21:03ECA
521XTAR-EUR
Maqsat-B2
Sloshsat-FLEVO~8,400 kg GTO 22
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-166 11 August 2005
08:20GS
523Thaicom 4 6,485 kg GTO V-168 13 October 2005
22:32GS
524Syracuse 3A
Galaxy 15~6,900 kg GTO 24
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-167 16 November 2005
23:46ECA
522Spaceway-2
Telkom-2~9,100 kg GTO 25
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-169 21 December 2005
23:33GS
525INSAT-4A
MSG-26,478 kg GTO 26
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-170 11 March 2006
22:33ECA
527Spainsat
Hot Bird 7A~8,700 kg GTO 27
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-171 27 May 2006
21:09ECA
529Satmex-6
Thaicom 59,172 kg GTO 28
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-172 11 August 2006
22:15ECA
531JCSAT-10
Syracuse 3B~8,900 kg GTO 29
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-173 13 October 2006
20:56ECA
533DirecTV-9S
Optus D1
LDREX-2~9,300 kg GTO 30
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-174 8 December 2006
22:08ECA
534WildBlue-1
AMC-18~7,800 kg GTO 31
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-175 11 March 2007
22:03ECA
535Skynet 5A
INSAT-4B~8,600 kg GTO 32
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-176 4 May 2007
22:29ECA
536Astra 1L
Galaxy 179,402 kg GTO 33
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-177 14 August 2007
23:44ECA
537Spaceway-3
BSAT-3a8,848 kg GTO 34
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-178 5 October 2007
22:02GS
526Intelsat 11
Optus D25,857 kg GTO 35
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-179 14 November 2007
22:03ECA
538Skynet 5B
Star One C19,535 kg GTO 36
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-180 21 December 2007
21:41GS
530Rascom-QAF1
Horizons-2~6,500 kg GTO 37
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-181 9 March 2008
04:03ES
528Jules Verne ATV LEO (ISS) V-182 18 April 2008
22:17ECA
539Star One C2
Vinasat-17,762 kg GTO 39
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-183 12 June 2008
22:05ECA
540Skynet 5C
Türksat 3A8,541 kg GTO 40
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-184 7 July 2008
21:47ECA
541ProtoStar
Badr-68,639 kg GTO 41
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-185 14 August 2008
20:44ECA
542Superbird-7
AMC-218,068 kg GTO 42
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-186 20 December 2008
22:35ECA
543Hot Bird 9
Eutelsat W2M9,220 kg GTO 43
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-187 12 February 2009
22:09ECA
545Hot Bird 10
NSS-9
Spirale-A
Spirale-B8,511 kg GTO 44
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-188 14 May 2009
13:12ECA
546Herschel Space Observatory
Planck3,402 kg Sun–Earth V-189 1 July 2009
19:52ECA
547TerreStar-1 7,055 kg GTO 46
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-190 21 August 2009
22:09ECA
548JCSAT-12
Optus D37,655 kg GTO 47
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-191 1 October 2009
21:59ECA
549Hispasat
COMSATBw-19,087 kg GTO 48
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-192 29 October 2009
20:00ECA
550NSS-12
Thor-69,462 kg GTO 49
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-193 18 December 2009
16:26GS
532Helios 2B 5,954 kg SSO V-194 21 May 2010
22:01ECA
551Astra 3B
COMSATBw-29,116 kg GTO SES
MilSat Services 51
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-195 26 June 2010
21:41ECA
552Arabsat-5A
Chollian8,393 kg GTO Arabsat
KARI 52
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-196 4 August 2010
20:59ECA
554Nilesat 201
RASCOM-QAF 1R7,085 kg GTO Nilesat
RASCOM 53
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-197 28 October 2010
21:51ECA
555Eutelsat
BSAT-3b8,263 kg GTO Eutelsat
Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation V-198 26 November 2010
18:39ECA
556Intelsat
HYLAS-18,867 kg GTO Intelsat
Avanti Communications 55
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-199 29 December 2010
21:27ECA
557Koreasat 6
Hispasat9,259 kg GTO KT Corporation
Hispasat 56
! scope="row" rowspan=2 V-200 16 February 2011
21:50ES
544Johannes Kepler ATV 20,050 kg LEO (ISS) ESA VA-201 22 April 2011
21:37ECA
558Yahsat 1A
New Dawn10,064 kg GTO Al Yah Satellite Communications
Intelsat VA-202 20 May 2011
20:38ECA
559ST-2
GSAT-89,013 kg GTO Singtel
ISRO 59
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-203 6 August 2011
22:52ECA
560Astra 1N
BSAT-3c / JCSAT-110R9,095 kg GTO SES
Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation 60
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-204 21 September 2011
21:38ECA
561Arabsat-5C
SES-28,974 kg GTO Arab Satellite Communications Organization
SES 61
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-205 23 March 2012
04:34ES
553Edoardo Amaldi ATV 20,060 kg LEO (ISS) ESA VA-206 15 May 2012
22:13ECA
562JCSAT-13
Vinasat-28,381 kg GTO SKY Perfect JSAT
VNPT 63
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-207 5 July 2012
21:36ECA
563EchoStar XVII
Meteosat9,647 kg GTO EchoStar
EUMETSAT 64
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-208 2 August 2012
20:54ECA
564Intelsat 20
HYLAS 210,182 kg GTO Intelsat
Avanti Communications 65
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-209 28 September 2012
21:18ECA
565Astra 2F
GSAT-1010,211 kg GTO SES
ISRO 66
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-210 10 November 2012
21:05ECA
566Eutelsat 21B
Star One C39,216 kg GTO Eutelsat
Star One 67
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-211 19 December 2012
21:49ECA
567Skynet 5D
Mexsat-38,637 kg GTO Astrium
Mexican Satellite System 68
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-212 7 February 2013
21:36ECA
568Amazonas 3
Azerspace-1/Africasat-1a10,350 kg GTO Hispasat
Azercosmos 69
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-213 5 June 2013
21:52ES
592Albert Einstein ATV 20,252 kg LEO (ISS) ESA VA-214 25 July 2013
19:54ECA
569Alphabus
INSAT-3D9,760 kg GTO Inmarsat
ISRO 71
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-215 29 August 2013
20:30ECA
570Eutelsat 25B/Es'hail 1
GSAT-79,790 kg GTO Eutelsat
ISRO 72
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-217 6 February 2014
21:30ECA
572ABS-2
Athena-Fidus10,214 kg GTO ABS (satellite operator)
DIRISI 73
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-216 22 March 2014
22:04ECA
571Astra 5B
Amazonas 4A9,579 kg GTO SES
Hispasat 74
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-219 29 July 2014
23:47ES
593Georges Lemaître ATV 20,293 kg LEO (ISS) ESA VA-218 11 September 2014
22:05ECA
573MEASAT-3b
Optus 1010,088 kg GTO MEASAT Satellite Systems
Optus 76
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-220 16 October 2014
21:43ECA
574Intelsat
ARSAT-110,060 kg GTO Intelsat
ARSAT 77
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-221 6 December 2014
20:40ECA
575DirecTV-14
GSAT-1610,210 kg GTO DirecTV
ISRO 78
! scope="row" rowspan=2 26 April 2015
20:00ECA
576Thor 7
SICRAL-29,852 kg GTO British Satellite Broadcasting
French Armed Forces 79
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-223 27 May 2015
21:16ECA
577DirecTV-15
SKY Mexico 19,960 kg GTO DirecTV
Sky México 80
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-224 15 July 2015
21:42ECA
578Star One C4
Meteosat8,587 kg GTO Star One
EUMETSAT 81
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-225 20 August 2015
20:34ECA
579Eutelsat
Intelsat 349,922 kg GTO Eutelsat
Intelsat 82
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-226 30 September 2015
20:30ECA
580Sky Muster
ARSAT-210,203 kg GTO National Broadband Network
ARSAT 83
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-227 10 November 2015
21:34ECA
581Arabsat 6B
GSAT-159,810 kg GTO Arabsat
ISRO 84
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-228 27 January 2016
23:20ECA
583Intelsat 29e 6,700 kg GTO Intelsat 85
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-229 9 March 2016
05:20ECA
582Eutelsat 65 West A 6,707 kg GTO Eutelsat 86
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-230 18 June 2016
21:38ECA
584EchoStar
BRISat10,730 kg GTO EchoStar
Bank Rakyat Indonesia VA-232 24 August 2016
22:16ECA
586Intelsat 33e
Intelsat 3610,735 kg GTO Intelsat LEROS apogee engine, which supposed to perform orbit raising, failed soon after its successful launch, forcing to use the experimentation of low-thrust reaction control system which extended the commissioning time 3 months longer than expected. Later, it suffered other thruster problems which cut its operational lifetime by about 3.5 years. On 19 October 2024 Intelsat 33e disintegrated in orbit and was declared a total loss by Intelsat. 88
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-231 5 October 2016
20:30ECA
585NBN Co 1B
GSAT-1810,663 kg GTO National Broadband Network
INSAT 89
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-233 17 November 2016
13:06ES
594Galileo FOC-M6
(satellites FM-7, 12, 13, 14)3,290 kg MEO ESA VA-234 21 December 2016
20:30ECA
587Star One D1
JCSAT-1510,722 kg GTO Star One
SKY Perfect JSAT 91
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-235 14 February 2017
21:39ECA
588Intelsat 32e / SKY Brasil
Telkom Indonesia10,485 kg GTO Intelsat, DirecTV Latin America
Telkom Indonesia VA-236 4 May 2017
21:50ECA
589KT Corporation
SGDC-110,289 kg GTO KT Corporation
SGDC 93
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-237 1 June 2017
23:45ECA
590ViaSat-2
Eutelsat10,865 kg GTO ViaSat
Eutelsat VA-238 28 June 2017
21:15ECA
591EuropaSat / Hellas Sat 3
GSAT-1710,177 kg GTO Inmarsat / Hellas Sat
ISRO 95
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-239 29 September 2017
21:56ECA
5100Intelsat 37e
BSAT-4a10,838 kg GTO Intelsat
B-SAT VA-240 12 December 2017
18:36ES
595Galileo FOC-M7
(satellites FM-19, 20, 21, 22)3,282 kg MEO ESA VA-241 25 January 2018
22:20ECA
5101SES-14 with GOLD
Al Yah 39,123 kg GTO SES, NASA
AlYahsat Satellites later found to have separated from the upper stage and entered an incorrect orbit with large inclination deviations. However, they were able to reach the planned orbit with small loss of on board propellant for SES-14 and still expected to meet the designed lifetime, but with significant loss on Al Yah 3 (up to 50% of its intended operational life). 98
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-242 5 April 2018
21:34ECA
5102Superbird-8 / Superbird-B3
HYLAS-410,260 kg GTO Japanese MoD, SKY Perfect JSAT
Avanti Communications VA-244 25 July 2018
11:25ES
596Galileo FOC-M8
(satellites FM-23, 24, 25, 26)3,379 kg MEO ESA VA-243 25 September 2018
22:38ECA
5103Horizons-3e
Azerspace-2 / Intelsat 3810,827 kg GTO Intelsat, SKY Perfect JSAT
Azercosmos VA-245 20 October 2018
01:45ECA
5105BepiColombo 4,081 kg Heliocentric ESA
JAXA VA-246 4 December 2018
20:37ECA
5104 10,298 kg GTO 103
! scope="row" VA-247 5 February 2019
21:01ECA
5106 10,018 kg GTO 104
! scope="row" VA-248 20 June 2019
21:43ECA
5107 10,594 kg GTO 105
! scope="row" VA-249 6 August 2019
19:30ECA
5108 10,594 kg GTO 106
! scope="row" VA-250 26 November 2019
21:23ECA
5109Inmarsat (GX 5)
TIBA-110,495 kg GTO Inmarsat
Government of Egypt107
! scope="row" VA-251 16 January 2020
21:05ECA
5110Eutelsat Konnect (African Broadband Satellite)
GSAT-307,888 kg GTO Eutelsat
ISRO 108
! scope="row" VA-252 18 February 2020
22:18ECA
5111JCSAT-17
GEO-KOMPSAT 2B9,236 kg GTO SKY Perfect JSAT
KARI 109
! scope="row" VA-253 15 August 2020
22:04ECA
5112Galaxy 30
MEV-2
BSAT-4b10,468 kg third launch of 2020
including 765 kg of support structures.GTO Intelsat
Northrop Grumman
B-SAT 110
! scope="row" VA-254 30 July 2021
21:00ECA
5113Eutelsat Quantum
Star One D210,515 kg GTO Eutelsat
Star One 111
! scope="row" VA-255 24 October 2021
02:10ECA
5115SES-17
Syracuse 4A11,210 kg GTO SES
DGA 112
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-256 25 December 2021
12:20ECA
5114James Webb Space Telescope Sun–Earth NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI VA-257 22 June 2022
21:50ECA
5116MEASAT
GSAT-249,829 kg GTO MEASAT
NSIL / Tata Play 114
! scope="row" VA-258 7 September 2022
21:45ECA
5117Eutelsat Konnect VHTS 6,400 kg GTO Eutelsat 115
! scope="row" VA-259 13 December 2022
20:30ECA
5118Galaxy 35
Galaxy 36
MTG-I110,972 kg GTO Intelsat
EUMETSAT 116
! scope="row" rowspan=2 VA-260 14 April 2023
12:14ECA
5120Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) 5,963 kg Heliocentric ESA VA-261 5 July 2023
22:00ECA
5119Syracuse 4B (Comsat-NG 2)
Heinrich Hertz (H2Sat)7,679.8 kg GTO DGA
DLR
See also
Notes
External links
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