The European launch vehicle Ariane-5 on Wednesday evening, carrying a German communications satellite and a French military satellite, took off for the last time from the spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, South America.
Arianespace wrote in the mission description that the German Space Agency’s satellite will implement and test new communication technologies and related software. and the French satellite, Syracuse 4B
Allowing the French Armed Forces to remain in constant contact during deployments
announced Arianespace.
Ariane-5 has been in service since 1996, and since then it has delivered cargo into space 239 times on 117 missions. The two-stage, 32-meter rocket has successfully closed its trajectory in 96% of its flights. The last launch had been delayed since mid-June due to various technical problems, and then delayed by one day due to bad weather at the spaceport.
Ariane-5 now takes its place in the annals of space history
said Martin Sion, CEO of ArianeGroup, Arianespace’s parent company.
This latest successful mission once again proves its superior reliability in the service of European autonomy and concludes an exceptional career marked by a series of technological and industrial achievements.
The first flight of the successor, Ariane-6, is scheduled to take place only at the end of the year.
(MTI, space.com)
