Tag: Ariane 5
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Launch Roundup: Vulcan and Ariane launch ahead of Starlink missions
After a week of weather delays across the U.S, launch cadence increases as providers strive to catch up with the backlog. An Ariane 6 carrying a weather satellite launched ahead of a navigational technology satellite and a classified payload launched atop Vulcan. A Chinese Chang Zheng 5B rocket also launched on Wednesday. Three Falcon 9…
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Goodbye to the Ariane 5, the ‘Swiss Knife’ of Europe’s launch industry
The Ariane 5 flew for the very last time on Wednesday, July 5, sending government communication satellites for Germany and France into space. Also known as flight VA261, the rocket launched from the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) in Kourou, French Guiana, at 22:00 UTC. The satellites onboard the Ariane 5 included the Heinrich-Hertz (H2SAT), on…
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![Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket to make its final launch this evening [Updated]](/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Ariane50.jpg)
Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket to make its final launch this evening [Updated]
Wednesday update: Unfavorable upper-level winds scrubbed a launch attempt of the European Space Agency’s Ariane 5 rocket on Tuesday from the European spaceport in French Guiana. However, Arianespace said Wednesday that the forecast for today is marginally better, and so the rocket is being prepared for liftoff at 5:30 pm ET (21:30 UTC). This will…
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Launch Roundup – Arianespace launches Ariane 5 final flight; SpaceX flies one of last Starlink v1.5 flights
Four launches were successfully conducted for the week of July 2 through July 9. The first one took place on Wednesday, July 5, with a European rocket successfully making its 117th and final flight. Later in the week, SpaceX successfully flew two Falcon 9 flights with Starlink payloads on Friday, July 7 and Sunday, July…
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Final Ariane 5 launch scheduled for July 4 after fixes to booster separation system
The final Ariane 5 rocket inside the launcher integration building at the Guiana Space Center. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/S. Martin Europe’s last Ariane 5 rocket is now scheduled to lift off July 4 after being grounded for more than two weeks due to a problem with the pyrotechnic systems required to jettison the launcher’s strap-on solid rocket…
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As JUICE struggles with antenna deployment, program manager highlights status of the mission
The European Space Agency’s (ESA) latest interplanetary mission that is set to explore Jupiter and its three largest Moons, the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE), successfully launched on Friday, April 14, has been touted as a near-perfect feat. JUICE had little-to-no issues during the launch sequence, right from blasting off atop an Ariane 5 rocket…
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Europe launches spacecraft on eight-year journey to explore Jupiter’s moons
A European Ariane 5 rocket lifts off from the Guiana Space Center with the Juicy Icy Moons Explorer mission. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/JM Guillon An Ariane 5 rocket took off from French Guiana Friday with the heaviest interplanetary science probe ever launched, kicking off a $1.7 billion European Space Agency mission on a decade-long quest to Jupiter’s…
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ESA launches JUICE to Jupiter’s icy moons atop Ariane 5
European Space Agency (ESA) and Arianespace teams have conducted the launch of the historic Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission to the three largest icy moons of Jupiter — Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa. The launch, dubbed Flight VA260, is the first of two Ariane 5 missions of 2023 and the penultimate flight of the Ariane…
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Live coverage: Ariane 5 rocket launches Europe’s first mission to Jupiter
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of an Ariane 5 rocket with the the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or JUICE, mission. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. [tabby title=”SFN Live”] [tabbyending] Arianespace’s live video webcast will begin approximately one hour before…
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Lightning threat delays launch of Europe’s first mission to Jupiter
The Ariane 5 rocket after rollout to its launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana. Credit: ESA/S. Corvaja The liftoff of Europe’s first mission to Jupiter aboard an Ariane 5 rocket was scrubbed Thursday in French Guiana due to a high risk of lightning at the launch site, delaying until Friday the start of the JUICE…