| List of Ariane launches |
|---|
| 1979–1989 · 1990–1999 · 2000–2009 · 2010–2019 · 2020–2029 |
This is a list of launches performed or scheduled to be performed by Ariane launch vehicles between 2020 and 2029. During this time, the Ariane 5 was retired in favour of the Ariane 6 rocket.
Launch statistics
Launch history
Source: Arianespace Press Kits [1]
2020
| Flight No. | Date Time (UTC) | Rocket type Serial No. | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customers | Launch outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VA251 | 16 January 2020 21:05 | Ariane 5 ECA 5110 | Kourou ELA-3 | Eutelsat Konnect GSAT-30 | 6,976 kg | GTO | Eutelsat ISRO | Success |
| Eutelsat communications satellite and ISRO communications satellite. | ||||||||
| VA252 | 18 February 2020 22:18 | Ariane 5 ECA 5111 | Kourou ELA-3 | JCSAT-17 GEO-KOMPSAT 2B | 9,236 kg | GTO | SKY Perfect JSAT KARI | Success |
| SKY Perfect JSAT communications satellite and KARI meteorological satellite. | ||||||||
| VA253 | 15 August 2020 22:04 | Ariane 5 ECA 5112 | Kourou ELA-3 | Galaxy 30 MEV-2 BSAT-4b | 9,703 kg | GTO | Intelsat Northrop Grumman BSAT | Success |
| Flight VA253 was planned to launch in June 2020.[2] However, launch campaign activities were significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. To prevent the spread in French Guiana and protect Centre Spatial Guyanais employees, all launch activities were suspended on 16 March 2020.[3][4][5] Operations for Vega flight VV16 and Ariane 5 flight VA253 could not resume until 28 April 2020.[6][7][8] VA253 activities were listed among the top priorities at the reopening of the Guiana Space Center on 11 May 2020.[9] The launch was rescheduled for end of July 2020[7][10][11] to place the satellites into a geostationary transfer orbit from which they will eventually be placed into geostationary orbit through their own propulsion. The flight was again aborted on 28 July 2020, due to a "red" warning in the system, resulting from a sensor problem related to LH2 tank on the core stage. American satellite operator Intelsat and Japanese Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT) are the customers for Ariane flight VA253.[12][13] Galaxy 30 is a communications satellite built by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (formerly Orbital ATK) on the GEOStar-2 platform for Intelsat. It has C-band, Ku-band, Ka-band payloads, as well as a WAAS payload for a mass of 3,325 kilograms (7,330 lb).[14] Built in satellite manufacturing facility in Dulles, Virginia, it will primarily serve video markets in North America.[15] As per Intelsat/Arianespace contract announced in January 2018,[16] Galaxy 30 would share the upper berth of the Ariane 5 ECA rocket with MEV-2, which is a Northrop Grumman second satellite servicing vehicle, identical to MEV-1. With a mass of 2,326 kilograms (5,128 lb), it would begin a five-year mission to extend the lifetime of Intelsat 10-02.[17] MEV-2 received FCC authorization on 25 March 2020.[18] BSAT-4b is the second communications satellite of the fourth generation B-SAT, built by SSL (company) on its SSL 1300 platform. It has 24 Ku-band transponders and mass of 3,520 kilograms (7,760 lb).[19] | ||||||||
2021
| Flight No. | Date Time (UTC) | Rocket type Serial No. | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customers | Launch outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VA254 | 30 July 2021 21:00 | Ariane 5 ECA 5113 | Kourou ELA-3 | Eutelsat Quantum Star One D2 | 10,515 kg | GTO | Eutelsat Star One | Success |
| Brazilian Satellite operator Embratel and European Eutelsat were customers on the VA254 flight.[20] Eutelsat Quantum is a European re-programmable telecommunications satellite equipped with Ku-band payload, developed in a public-private partnership between the European Space Agency (ESA), Eutelsat and Airbus Defence and Space.[17] It had a launch mass of approximately 3,461 kilograms (7,630 lb) and a design lifetime of 15 years.[21] Star One D2 is a telecommunications satellite equipped with C-, Ku-, Ka- and X-band payloads for high-speed telecommunications, television broadcast and fast broadband in South America, Mexico, Central America, and parts of the Atlantic Ocean.[14] It had a launch mass of approximately 6,190 kilograms (13,650 lb) and a design lifetime of 15 years.[21] The target orbit was a geosynchronous transfer orbit with an apogee altitude of 250 kilometres (160 mi) and a perigee altitude of 35,726 kilometres (22,199 mi), at an inclination of 3°.[21] The mission was planned to last 36 minutes and 24 seconds.[21][a] | ||||||||
| VA255 | 24 October 2021 02:10 | Ariane 5 ECA 5115 | Kourou ELA-3 | SES-17 Syracuse 4A | 10,264 kg | GTO | SES S.A. DGA | Success |
| SES S.A. communications satellite and Direction générale de l'armement military communications satellite. | ||||||||
| VA256 | 25 December 2021 12:20 | Ariane 5 ECA 5114 | Kourou ELA-3 | James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) | 6,161.4 kg | Sun–Earth L2 | NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI | Success |
| James Webb Space Telescope. | ||||||||
2022
| Flight No. | Date Time (UTC) | Rocket type Serial No. | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customers | Launch outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VA257 | 22 June 2022 21:50 | Ariane 5 ECA 5116 | Kourou ELA-3 | MEASAT-3d GSAT-24 | 9,829 kg | GTO | MEASAT NSIL / Tata Play | Success |
| MEASAT communications satellite and NSIL communications satellite. | ||||||||
| VA258 | 7 September 2022 21:45 | Ariane 5 ECA 5117 | Kourou ELA-3 | Eutelsat Konnect VHTS | 6,400 kg | GTO | Eutelsat | Success |
| Eutelsat communications satellite. | ||||||||
| VA259 | 13 December 2022 20:30 | Ariane 5 ECA 5118 | Kourou ELA-3 | Galaxy 35 Galaxy 36 MTG-I1 | 10,972 kg | GTO | Intelsat EUMETSAT | Success |
| Intelsat communications satellite and EUMETSAT meteorological satellite. | ||||||||
2023
| Flight No. | Date Time (UTC) | Rocket type Serial No. | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customers | Launch outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VA260 | 14 April 2023 12:14 | Ariane 5 ECA 5120 | Kourou ELA-3 | Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) | 5,963 kg | Jovicentric | ESA | Success |
| Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer. | ||||||||
| VA-261 | 5 July 2023 22:00 | Ariane 5 ECA | Kourou ELA-3 | Syracuse 4B (Comsat-NG 2)[23] Heinrich Hertz (H2Sat) | 6950 kg[24] | GTO | DGA DLR | Success |
| Ariane 5's last mission. | ||||||||
Future launches
| Date Time (UTC) | Rocket type Serial No. | Payload | Orbit | Customers | Launch status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 July 2024[25], 18:00–22:00[26] | Ariane 62 | Multiple rideshare payloads[27] | LEO | PTS, TU Berlin, ArianeGroup, BarcelonaTech, NASA, TUKE, University of Lisbon, The Exploration Company | Scheduled |
| Q4 2024[28] | Ariane 62 | CSO-3 | SSO | CNES / DGA | Planned |
| 2025[28][29] | Ariane 62 | Galileo FOC FM 29, 30 | MEO | ESA | Planned |
| 2025[28][29] | Ariane 62 | Galileo FOC FM 31, 32 | MEO | ESA | Planned |
| 2025[29] | Ariane 62 | Galileo FOC FM 33, 34 | MEO | ESA | Planned |
| 2025[30] | Ariane 64 | Intelsat-41, 44 | GTO | Intelsat | Planned |
| 2025[28][31] | Ariane 64 | Optus-11 | GTO | Optus | Planned |
| 2025[28][32][33] | Ariane 64 | Uhura-1 (Node-1)[34] | GTO | Skyloom | Planned |
| 2025[35] | Ariane 6 | Galileo G2 1 | MEO | ESA | Planned |
| 2025[36] | Ariane 6 | Hellas Sat 5 | GTO | Hellas Sat | Planned |
| Q2 2026[37] | Ariane 64[38] | MTG-I2[39] | GTO | EUMETSAT | Planned |
| H1 2026[40] | Ariane 64 | Intelsat 45 | GTO | Intelsat | Planned |
| Q4 2026[41] | Ariane 64 | Multi-Launch Service (MLS) #1 rideshare mission | GTO | TBA | Planned |
| 2026[42] | Ariane 62[43] | PLATO | Sun–Earth L2 | ESA | Planned |
| Q4 2027[41] | Ariane 64 | MLS #2 rideshare mission | GTO | TBA | Planned |
| 2027[44] | Ariane 64 | Earth Return Orbiter | Areocentric | ESA | Planned |
| Q4 2028[41] | Ariane 64 | MLS #3 rideshare mission | GTO | TBA | Planned |
| Q3 2029[41] | Ariane 64 | MLS #4 rideshare mission | GTO | TBA | Planned |
| 2029[45] | Ariane 62 | ARIEL, Comet Interceptor | Sun–Earth L2 | ESA | Planned |
| 2030[46][47] | Ariane 64 | Argonaut (lunar lander) | TLI | ESA | Planned |
| 2035[48] | Ariane 64[49] | Athena | Sun–Earth L2, Halo orbit | ESA | Planned |
| 2035[50] | Ariane 6 | LISA | Heliocentric | ESA | Planned |
| TBD[51] | Ariane 64 | 18 launches of Project Kuiper (35–40 satellites)[52] | LEO | Kuiper Systems | Planned |
| TBD[53] | Ariane 62 | Electra | GTO | SES S.A. / ESA | Planned |
| TBD[53] | Ariane 62 | Eutelsat ×5 | GTO | Eutelsat | Planned |
Criticism
The Ariane 6 has been subject to criticism for its cost per launch and lack of reusability.
When initially approved by the ESA in the early 2010s, the rocket was envisioned as a modernized version of the Ariane 5, optimized for cost. At the time, commercial competitors like SpaceX were already putting downward pressure on launch costs. However, these companies had made few successful flights and had not yet proven that reusability was possible. In the more than a decade that the Ariane 6 was in development, the project was delayed and went over budget. During that same time, SpaceX continued to iteratively develop its Falcon 9 rocket, nearly doubling its payload capacity and successfully landing rockets for reuse, making it more capable and far less costly than the Ariane 6.[54][55]
European officials have defended the Ariane 6 saying that its nations need access to space, independent from other nations or private companies. They point to geopolitical events that cut off Europe's access to the Russian Soyuz rocket in as an example of that need. They also defend the rocket's lack of reusability arguing that it would not be economically viable given the rocket’s fewer planned launches.[56][57]
The ESA's member states agreed to subsidize the rocket for up to €340 million annually from its 16th to its 42nd flight (expected in 2031) in return for an 11% discount on launches.[56][58]
Notes
References
External links
- Ariane 6 - Official Website
- Ariane 6 concept video, Airbus Safran Launchers, November 2016.
- Airbus Defence and Space presents Ariane 6 at Paris Air Show 2015
References
- Wade, Mark. "Ariane". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008.