Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket launches on final mission, ending 27-year career

Europe’s iconic Ariane 5 rocket is set to embark on its last flight, marking the end of a remarkable 27-year journey that has symbolized the European space industry.

The final launch is scheduled to take place from Kourou in French Guiana between 21:30 and 23:05 GMT.

Onboard will be a French military communications satellite and a German experimental satellite.

The occasion holds significant emotional value for the teams at the Guiana Space Center, whose dedication and efforts have been closely intertwined with the Ariane 5 rocket throughout its history.

Marie-Anne Clair, the director of the center, expressed the charged atmosphere surrounding the liftoff.

Philippe Baptiste, CEO of the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), described Ariane 5 as an incredible human adventure.

Although the rocket faced a setback with an explosion during its maiden flight in 1996, it quickly recovered and experienced only one additional failure in 2002, leaving a lasting impact on the team involved.

Since then, Ariane 5 has achieved a remarkable track record of success.

Its reliability earned it the trust of NASA, leading to the launch of the prestigious US$10 billion James Webb telescope.

Notable missions include sending the Rosetta probes to comet Churi in 2004 and the Juice mission to Jupiter in April 2023.

However, the European space industry now faces a shortage of launchers, and the upcoming deployment of the Galileo satellites, the European Union’s navigation system, remains uncertain.

Qualification tests for the Ariane 6 rocket are currently underway, with efforts to ensure its readiness for future missions.

The farewell flight of Ariane 5 represents a significant milestone for the European space industry, as it paves the way for the next generation of launchers and endeavors to maintain Europe’s presence in space exploration.