The latest launch of the European Ariane 5 rocket took place from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. A live stream of the launch was available on the YouTube channel of the operator company Arianespace. TASS.
During the final launch, the launch vehicle was supposed to orbit the German communications satellite Heinrich Hertz and the French military satellite Syracuse 4B.
The launch was originally scheduled for June 16, but at the last minute technical issues were discovered and delayed. The launch was then scheduled for the night of July 5-6, but was delayed one day due to adverse weather conditions.
The Heinrich Hertz satellite was developed by OHB System for the German Space Agency. The launch of Syracuse 4B was commissioned by the French Ministry of Defense. The first satellite of this series (Syracuse 4A) was sent into orbit in October 2021.
The development of the Ariane family of rockets was initiated by France in the 1970s. The current generation of these missiles belongs to the fifth and heavy class in a row. They are capable of launching a payload of up to 10.5 tons into low and geotransfer orbits. The first launch of Ariane 5 took place in 1996, and its last launch was its 117th.
Work is currently underway to create a new Ariane 6 rocket. Initially, its operation was planned to begin in 2020, but the dates were delayed several times due to the COVID-19 outbreak and development difficulties. According to the latest estimates, the first launch of Ariane 6 could happen before the end of this year.
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