Last flight of Ariane 5 [Live: 05.07.2023, 22:000 UTC]
Launch moved one day because of unfavorable weather conditions
This will be the last flight of an Ariane 5 rocket. Since 1996 it launched 116 times in various configurations. With a success rate of 96% it is considered one of the most reliable rockets in service. Only Atlas V has a better track record of launch successes. It also used to be the most powerful rocket until Falcon Heavy came into service.
Scott Manley: How Europe Designed and Evolved The Ariane Rocket Over Last 4 Decades
ArianeGroup has Ariane 6 as replacement almost ready to launch. The concept in 2015 was to cut launch costs of Ariane 5 by half and increase the launch rate from 6 to 11. These might have been respectable numbers eight years ago, but it might not be enough to sustainably compete with SpaceX. SpaceX has already launched 41 rockets this year and might launch up to 80 for the full year. Elon is eying 100 launches for 2023. It is rumored that it can launch Starlink missions for as little as $ 20 million.
| Cost per Launch [$ million]* | Payload to LEO [t] | |
|---|---|---|
| Ariane 5 | 150 – 200 | 16 - 20 |
| Ariane 6 | 75 - 115 | 10,4 – 21,7 |
| Falcon 9 | 67 | 17,4 – 22,8 |
| Falcon Heavy | 97 – 150 | 63,8 |
*Launch cost estimates from Wikipedia.
Mission
The rocket will carry
- Syracuse 4B, a military communications satellite for the French military.
- Heinrich Hertz, a military communications satellite for the German military.
Total payload mass is 6,9 t. Target is a geostationary transfer orbit.
Available live streams:
- arianespace: Flight VA261 | Heinrich-Hertz-Satellit & SYRACUSE 4B | Ariane 5 | Arianespace
- Tim Dodd: Watch the LAST Ariane 5 rocket launch ever!!!
- Angry Astronaut: Ariane 5 Final launch live
Space Facts
Scott Manley: What Is This Debris Falling Off The Sides Of Rockets?
Vote for my witness: @blue-witness
Posted with STEMGeeks
SpaceX is ahead but I think Ariane Group will be able to bridge the gap with more developments, especially on the infrastructure aspect. I'm hoping things will be a bit less more expensive with each passing year so more organizations have the capability to set rockets in space. It's a frontier I'm most excited about :)
They need to find a way to compete and lower costs further. There are ideas about reuseable or partially reuseable systems. If you look at how long it took them to develop the Ariane 6... They used to have the most powerful rocket as selling point. That's also gone. And there is a lot of competition from private companies these days. They grew up in a market dominated by governments.
Yes, it was easier to compete when there were only governments in the space. Now the private companies have innovated and development better systems, setting new standards that all other players have to put into consideration when building their own systems. Reusable systems will be very cost effective once it is created, it could be the new edge for them.
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