The venerable Ariane 5 rocket will lift off for a last time, from Kourou, French Guiana, carrying the French Syracuse 4B military satellite and German Heinrich Hertz satellite to geostationary transfer orbit.
Launch window: 1800-1905 EDT / 2200-2305 UTC.
After a string of 111 successful launches, Ariane 5 will be replaced by the lower-cost Ariane 6, scheduled for its maiden voyage in late 2023 or early 2024.
Europe’s Ariane-6 rocket maiden flight expected by summer, space agency boss says
After almost three years of delay, the first flight of Europe’s last-generation space rocket Ariane-6 is now planned for the summer, the European Space Agency’s boss Josef Aschbacher said on Thursday (11 January).
The Ariane 5 rocket is taking off for the last time. It's the end of an era for a launch vehicle that helped establish Europe as a major player in the space industry.
Europa setzt auf seine neue Rakete – die #Ariane 6. Doch wer braucht die noch in Zeiten von Space-X und flexiblen Kleinraketen, wie sie auch in deutschen Startups entwickelt werden?
#ArianeSpace “When the decisions were made on #Ariane 6, we did so with the technologies that were available to quickly introduce a new rocket” (in 📆 June 2014). When challenged by one of the presenters on the assertion that the Ariane 6 has been introduced #quickly 🥱, he quickly pivoted away from the contradiction. The first controlled ocean #landing of a #Falcon 9 booster was completed in 📆 April 2014. So, reusable launch technologies were most certainly available during the design and early development phases of Ariane 6. https://europeanspaceflight.com/europe-will-introduce-a-reusable-launch-vehicle-in-the-2030s-says-arianespace-ceo
French space chief calls for end to European agency’s investment model
EU support at risk if group keeps key ‘georeturn’ principle in awarding contracts, says Philippe Baptiste