5 July 2023 is a date to remember for space fans, as it was the last launch of an amazing ESA Ariane 5 rocket! Blasting off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, the rocket’s journey took 33 minutes. Its mission was to carry the German aerospace agency DLR’s Heinrich Hertz experimental communications satellite, and the French communications satellite Syracuse 4b, into their planned orbits.
Ariane 5 rockets have an excellent success record, and this time was no different as the mission was completed perfectly! Ariane 5 rockets were first used in 1996, and in total have been used an incredible 117 times! They have carried important satellites and probes into space, including ESA’s comet-chasing Rosetta, the Telescopio spaziale James Webb, and ESA’s Juice mission to Jupiter. Ariane 5 rockets have also been a key part of Europe’s participation in the Stazione Spaziale Internazionale, being used to deliver Automated Transfer Vehicle resupply craft.
La serie di razzi Ariane ha una storia interessante. La loro storia inizia negli anni '60, quando diversi Paesi europei unirono le forze per costruire un nuovo razzo per l'era spaziale, chiamato Europa! Il progetto non ebbe successo, ma nel 1975 l'Europa unì diverse organizzazioni spaziali per formare l'ESA, che prese l'idea di Europa e la trasformò in Ariane. I razzi Ariane 1 iniziarono a essere lanciati nel 1979, seguiti da nuove versioni fino all'Ariane 5.
Scientists and engineers are busy putting the finishing touches on the next generation of ESA rockets, Ariane 6! These will be about half the cost of an Ariane 5, which is a huge saving. It is hoped that the first Ariane 6 launch will take place early next year!
Cool fact: Ariane 5 rockets were not just reliable, but very powerful too! They could carry two large satellites into orbit, or push craft out into deep space.
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