List of Ariane launches |
---|
1979–1989 · 1990–1999 · 2000–2009 · 2010–2019 · 2020–2029 |
This is a list of launches performed or scheduled to be performed by Ariane launch vehicles between 2020 and 2029. During this time, the Ariane 5 was retired in favour of the Ariane 6 rocket.
Source: Arianespace Press Kits [1] [ better source needed ]
Flight No. | Date Time (UTC) | Rocket type Serial No. | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customers | Launch outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
VA251 | 16 January 2020 21:05 | Ariane 5 ECA+ 5110 | Guiana ELA-3 | Eutelsat Konnect GSAT-30 | 6,976 kg | GTO | Eutelsat ISRO | Success |
Eutelsat communications satellite and ISRO communications satellite. | ||||||||
VA252 | 18 February 2020 22:18 | Ariane 5 ECA+ 5111 | Guiana ELA-3 | JCSAT-17 GEO-KOMPSAT 2B | 9,236 kg | GTO | SKY Perfect JSAT KARI | Success |
SKY Perfect JSAT communications satellite and KARI meteorological satellite. | ||||||||
VA253 | 15 August 2020 22:04 | Ariane 5 ECA+ 5112 | Guiana ELA-3 | Galaxy 30 MEV-2 BSAT-4b | 9,703 kg | GTO | Intelsat Northrop Grumman BSAT | Success |
Flight VA253 was planned to launch in June 2020. [2] However, launch campaign activities were significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. To prevent the spread in French Guiana and protect Centre Spatial Guyanais employees, all launch activities were suspended on 16 March 2020. [3] [4] [5] Operations for Vega flight VV16 and Ariane 5 flight VA253 could not resume until 28 April 2020. [6] [7] [8] VA253 activities were listed among the top priorities at the reopening of the Guiana Space Center on 11 May 2020. [9] The launch was rescheduled for end of July 2020 [7] [10] [11] to place the satellites into a geostationary transfer orbit from which they will eventually be placed into geostationary orbit through their own propulsion. The flight was again aborted on 28 July 2020, due to a "red" warning in the system, resulting from a sensor problem related to LH2 tank on the core stage. American satellite operator Intelsat and Japanese Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT) are the customers for Ariane flight VA253. [12] [13] Galaxy 30 is a communications satellite built by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (formerly Orbital ATK) on the GEOStar-2 platform for Intelsat. It has C-band, Ku-band, Ka-band payloads, as well as a WAAS payload for a mass of 3,325 kilograms (7,330 lb). [14] Built in satellite manufacturing facility in Dulles, Virginia, it will primarily serve video markets in North America. [15] As per Intelsat/Arianespace contract announced in January 2018, [16] Galaxy 30 would share the upper berth of the Ariane 5 ECA rocket with MEV-2, which is a Northrop Grumman second satellite servicing vehicle, identical to MEV-1. With a mass of 2,326 kilograms (5,128 lb), it would begin a five-year mission to extend the lifetime of Intelsat 10-02. [17] MEV-2 received FCC authorization on 25 March 2020. [18] BSAT-4b is the second communications satellite of the fourth generation B-SAT, built by SSL (company) on its SSL 1300 platform. It has 24 Ku-band transponders and mass of 3,520 kilograms (7,760 lb). [19] | ||||||||
Flight No. | Date Time (UTC) | Rocket type Serial No. | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customers | Launch outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
VA254 | 30 July 2021 21:00 | Ariane 5 ECA+ 5113 | Guiana ELA-3 | Eutelsat Quantum Star One D2 | 10,515 kg | GTO | Eutelsat Star One | Success |
Brazilian Satellite operator Embratel and European Eutelsat were customers on the VA254 flight. [20] Eutelsat Quantum is a European re-programmable telecommunications satellite equipped with Ku-band payload, developed in a public-private partnership between the European Space Agency (ESA), Eutelsat and Airbus Defence and Space. [17] It had a launch mass of approximately 3,461 kilograms (7,630 lb) and a design lifetime of 15 years. [21] Star One D2 is a telecommunications satellite equipped with C-, Ku-, Ka- and X-band payloads for high-speed telecommunications, television broadcast and fast broadband in South America, Mexico, Central America, and parts of the Atlantic Ocean. [14] It had a launch mass of approximately 6,190 kilograms (13,650 lb) and a design lifetime of 15 years. [21] The target orbit was a geosynchronous transfer orbit with an apogee altitude of 250 kilometres (160 mi) and a perigee altitude of 35,726 kilometres (22,199 mi), at an inclination of 3°. [21] The mission was planned to last 36 minutes and 24 seconds. [21] [lower-alpha 1] | ||||||||
VA255 | 24 October 2021 02:10 | Ariane 5 ECA+ 5115 | Guiana ELA-3 | SES-17 Syracuse 4A | 10,264 kg | GTO | SES S.A. DGA | Success |
SES S.A. communications satellite and Direction générale de l'armement military communications satellite. | ||||||||
VA256 | 25 December 2021 12:20 | Ariane 5 ECA+ 5114 | Guiana ELA-3 | James Webb Space Telescope | 6,161.4 kg | Sun–Earth L2 | NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI | Success |
James Webb Space Telescope. |
Flight No. | Date Time (UTC) | Rocket type Serial No. | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customers | Launch outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
VA257 | 22 June 2022 21:50 | Ariane 5 ECA+ 5116 | Guiana ELA-3 | MEASAT-3d GSAT-24 | 9,829 kg | GTO | MEASAT NSIL / Tata Play | Success |
MEASAT communications satellite and NSIL communications satellite. | ||||||||
VA258 | 7 September 2022 21:45 | Ariane 5 ECA+ 5117 | Guiana ELA-3 | Eutelsat Konnect VHTS | 6,400 kg | GTO | Eutelsat | Success |
Eutelsat communications satellite. | ||||||||
VA259 | 13 December 2022 20:30 | Ariane 5 ECA+ 5118 | Guiana ELA-3 | Galaxy 35 Galaxy 36 MTG-I1 | 10,972 kg | GTO | Intelsat EUMETSAT | Success |
Two Intelsat communications satellites and EUMETSAT meteorological satellite. |
Flight No. | Date Time (UTC) | Rocket type Serial No. | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customers | Launch outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
VA260 | 14 April 2023 12:14 | Ariane 5 ECA+ 5120 | Guiana ELA-3 | Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) | 5,963 kg | Jovicentric | ESA | Success |
Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer. | ||||||||
VA261 | 5 July 2023 22:00 | Ariane 5 ECA+ 5119 | Guiana ELA-3 | Syracuse 4B (Comsat-NG 2) [23] Heinrich Hertz (H2Sat) | 6,950 kg [24] | GTO | DGA DLR | Success |
Ariane 5's last mission. [25] |
Flight No. | Date Time (UTC) | Rocket type Serial No. | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customers | Launch outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
VA262 | 9 July 2024 19:00 | Ariane 6 A62 L6001 [26] | Guiana ELA-4 | Multiple rideshare payloads | 1,600 kg [27] | LEO | Various | Partial failure |
Maiden flight of Ariane 6. It was a flight test carrying a mass simulator plus a number of small cubesats and other experiments as rideshare payloads. Rocket launched successfully to orbit and upper stage performed a second burn to release cubesats. During attempt to perform a third burn to deorbit the upper stage, the rocket's auxiliary propulsion system failed. This failure prevented the upper stage from relighting. [28] [29] [30] [31] |
Date Time (UTC) | Type | Payload | Orbit | Customers | Launch status | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
December 2024 [30] [29] | Ariane 62 | CSO-3 | SSO | CNES / DGA | Planned | ||
French military Reconnaissance satellite. Despite the problem with the APU on Ariane 6's first flight, an Arianespace official said they are still "perfectly on track now to make the second launch this year". [30] | |||||||
Q1 2025 [32] | Ariane 62 | Galileo FOC FM 29, 30 | MEO | ESA | Planned | ||
2025 [33] [32] | Ariane 62 | Galileo FOC FM 28, 31 | MEO | ESA | Planned | ||
2025 [33] [32] | Ariane 62 | Galileo FOC FM 33, 34 | MEO | ESA | Planned | ||
September-November 2025 [34] | Ariane 62 [35] | MetOp-SGA1 | Polar | EUMETSAT | Planned | ||
2H 2025 [36] | Ariane 64 | Project Kuiper (30+ satellites) | LEO | Kuiper Systems | Planned | ||
First Ariane 64 launch and first Ariane launch for Project Kuiper | |||||||
Q2 2026 [37] | Ariane 64 | Intelsat 45 | GTO | Intelsat | Planned | ||
June-August 2026 [34] | Ariane 64 [35] | MetOp-SGB1 | Polar | EUMETSAT | Planned | ||
Q3 2026 [38] | Ariane 64 [39] | MTG-I2 [40] | GTO | EUMETSAT | Planned | ||
Q4 2026 [41] | Ariane 64 | Multi-Launch Service (MLS) #1 rideshare mission | GTO | TBA | Planned | ||
2026 [42] | Ariane 6 | Galileo G2 1, 2 | MEO | ESA | Planned | ||
2026 [43] [44] | Ariane 64 | Intelsat 41, 44 | GTO | Intelsat | Planned | ||
Q4 2026 [45] [46] | Ariane 62 [47] | PLATO | Sun–Earth L2 | ESA | Planned | ||
2026 [48] [49] | Ariane 64 | Uhura-1 (Node-1) [50] | GTO | Skyloom | Planned | ||
Q4 2027 [41] | Ariane 64 | MLS #2 rideshare mission | GTO | TBA | Planned | ||
2027 [51] [52] | Ariane 64 | Optus-11 | GTO | Optus | Planned | ||
2027 [53] | Ariane 64 | Earth Return Orbiter | Areocentric | ESA | Planned | ||
2027 [42] | Ariane 6 | Galileo G2 3, 4 | MEO | ESA | Planned | ||
2027 [54] | Ariane 6 | Hellas Sat 5 | GTO | Hellas Sat | Planned | ||
Q4 2028 [41] | Ariane 64 | MLS #3 rideshare mission | GTO | TBA | Planned | ||
Q3 2029 [41] | Ariane 64 | MLS #4 rideshare mission | GTO | TBA | Planned | ||
2029 [55] | Ariane 62 | ARIEL, Comet Interceptor | Sun–Earth L2 | ESA | Planned | ||
2031 [56] | Ariane 64 | Argonaut Mission 1 | TLI | ESA | Planned | ||
2035 [57] | Ariane 64 [58] | Athena | Sun–Earth L2, Halo orbit | ESA | Planned | ||
2035 [59] | Ariane 6 | LISA | Heliocentric | ESA | Planned | ||
TBD [60] | Ariane 64 | 17 more launches of Project Kuiper (35–40 satellites) [61] | LEO | Kuiper Systems | Planned | ||
TBD [62] | Ariane 62 | Electra | GTO | SES S.A. / ESA | Planned | ||
TBD [62] | Ariane 62 | Eutelsat ×3 | GTO | Eutelsat | Planned |
Ariane 5 is a retired European heavy-lift space launch vehicle developed and operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was launched from the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in French Guiana. It was used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), low Earth orbit (LEO) or further into space. The launch vehicle had a streak of 82 consecutive successful launches between 9 April 2003 and 12 December 2017. Since 2014, Ariane 6, a direct successor system, first launched in 2024.
Arianespace SA is a French company founded in March 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider. It operates two launch vehicles: Vega C, a small-lift rocket, and Ariane 6, a medium-to-heavy-lift rocket. Arianespace is a subsidiary of ArianeGroup, a joint venture between Airbus and Safran.
Ariane 2 was a European expendable space launch vehicle, operated by the European Space Agency (ESA) between 1986 and 1989 as part of Ariane family of rockets. The principal manufacturer for the Ariane 2 was Aérospatiale, while the lead agency for its development was the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), the French government's space agency.
The Guiana Space Centre, also called Europe's Spaceport, is a spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, a overseas region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximately 500 kilometres north of the equator at a latitude of 5°. In operation since 1968, it is a suitable location for a spaceport because of its near equatorial location and open sea to the east and north.
ELA-3 is a launch complex at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. Currently inactive, the complex was first used in June 1996 in support of the now retired Ariane 5 rocket. ELA-3 is 21 square kilometres (8.1 sq mi) in size.
Ariane 6 is a European expendable launch system operated by Arianespace and developed and produced by ArianeGroup on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). It replaces Ariane 5, as part of the Ariane launch vehicle family.
BSAT-2a, was a geostationary communications satellite operated by B-SAT which was designed and manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation on the STAR-1 platform. It was stationed on the 110° East orbital slot along its companion BSAT-2c from where they provided redundant high definition direct television broadcasting across Japan.
BSAT-4a is a geostationary communications satellite ordered by Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (BSAT) and designed and manufactured by SSL on the SSL 1300 platform, to be stationed on the 110.0° East orbital slot for direct television broadcasting of 4K and 8K Ultra HD resolutions. It was launched on 29 September 2017.
The JSAT constellation is a communication and broadcasting satellite constellation formerly operated by JSAT Corporation and currently by SKY Perfect JSAT Group. It has become the most important commercial constellation in Japan, and fifth in the world. It has practically amalgamated all private satellite operators in Japan, with only B-SAT left as a local competitor.
Intelsat 33e, also known as IS-33e, is a high throughput (HTS) geostationary communications satellite operated by Intelsat and designed and manufactured by Boeing Space Systems on the BSS 702MP satellite bus. It is the second satellite of the EpicNG service, and covers Europe, Africa and most of Asia from the 60° East longitude, where it replaced Intelsat 904. Australia habe national geo sat.. It has a mixed C-band, Ku-band and Ka-band payload with all bands featuring wide and C- and Ku- also featuring spot beams.
Intelsat 36, also known as IS-36, is a geostationary communications satellite operated by Intelsat and designed and manufactured by Space Systems/Loral on the SSL 1300 satellite bus. It covers Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia from the 68.5° East longitude, providing media and content distribution with the South Africa MultiChoice company as anchor customer. It has a mixed C-band and Ku-band.
Vega C, or Vega Consolidation, is a European expendable, small-lift launch vehicle developed and produced by Avio. It is an evolution of the original Vega launcher, designed to offer greater launch performance and flexibility.
Intelsat 907 was a communications satellite operated by Intelsat.
This article documents expected notable spaceflight events during the year 2026.
Spaceflight in 2025 promises to follow the 2020s trend of record breaking orbital launches and increased developments in lunar, Mars and low-earth orbit exploration.
Vega flight VV16, also called SSMS PoC Flight, was the 16th launch of the Vega rocket. The launch was also notable as it was the first Vega launch following the accident of the VV15 launch in July 2019 that caused the loss of FalconEye1 satellite.
BSAT-4b, is a geostationary communications satellite ordered by Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation and designed and manufactured by SSL of Maxar Technologies on the SSL 1300 platform. It is expected to be stationed on the 110.0° East orbital latitude for direct television broadcasting of 4K and 8K Ultra HD television resolutions.
Some 6 rockets are currently at different stages of production, including the first A64, which is due to take off in the second half of 2025 to deploy a batch of more than 30 satellites on behalf of Kuiper, the Amazon constellation.
Our plan is to launch the product into space by 2026.