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Video length: 3 mins.
The Ariane 5 rocket is due to make its last flight, Wednesday July 5, from Kourou in Guyana. Back to the 27 years of this launcher.
On June 4, 1996, Space Europe launched its latest version of Ariane from Kourou (French Guiana). But after forty seconds, the satellites that Ariane 5 was to put into orbit ended up as debris. The engineers, who had been working on the project for a decade, are appalled. “ It was very sad (…) the program does not stop, you have to understand what happened“, remember Luca Chiecchio, present for the first test flight of Ariane 5 (Arianespace).
Exceptional reliability
Engineers rolled up their sleeves and successes followed for 27 years. The only launcher capable of sending two satellites into orbit at once, Ariane 5 dominates the world market. Before the last launch of Ariane 5, Wednesday July 5, Thierry Vallée, from the Guiana Space Center (CNES), feels nostalgia and pride. The satellite launcher was 98% reliable. “We were a launcher who for years was the best in terms of reliability, precision“, explains Marie-Ange Sanguy, editor-in-chief Space & Exploration. All the hopes of space Europe now rest on Ariane 6, more powerful and less expensive.