RetiredArianespace / ESAFirst Launch: 1996-06-04
Ariane 5
European heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle that launched most of Europe's major science and telecom missions from 1996 to 2023, including the James Webb Space Telescope.
SpaceStats Reliability & Flight Record
TOTAL LAUNCHES
117
Orbital missions
SUCCESSFUL
112
5 failures
SUCCESS RATE
95.7%
LANDINGS
0
Expendable Vehicle
Arianespace / ESAFeatured Photography
Ariane 5 Launching James Webb Space Telescope
NASA / Bill Ingalls
Technical & Propulsion Specifications
Operator: Arianespace / ESAVehicle Dimensions & Mass
- Overall Height
- 52 m
- Body Diameter
- 5.4 m
- Gross Lift-off Mass
- 777 t
- Stages Count
- 2
- Fairing Diameter
- 5.4 m
Stage 1 (Booster)
- Recovery Mode
- Expendable
Stage 2 & Capacities
- LEO Capacity
- 20 t
- GTO Capacity
- 10.9 t
- Cost per Launch
- $178,000,000
- LEO Price / kg
- ~$8,900 / kg
Fleet Deployment & Economics Suite
Model Satellite Constellations or Payload Charters with Ariane 5
Calculate multi-plane Walker Delta fleet costs, fairing dispenser limits, launch cadence timelines, and single-mission rideshare economics.
High-Resolution Photo Gallery & Media
4 photos & renders of Ariane 5
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Liftoff2021-12-25Ariane 5 Launching James Webb Space Telescope
Ariane 5 flight VA256 lifting off from Guiana Space Centre carrying the $10B James Webb Space Telescope on Christmas Day.
NASA / Bill Ingalls
Source 
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Pad2021-12-23Ariane 5 on ELA-3 Launch Pad at Kourou
Ariane 5 standing on the ELA-3 launch table with lightning protection masts at Centre Spatial Guyanais.
ESA / CNES / Arianespace
Source 
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Rollout2019-06-19Ariane 5 Mobile Table Rollout in French Guiana
Ariane 5 rolling out from the Final Assembly Building (BAF) on its mobile launch table.
ESA / Arianespace
Source 
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Engine2018-05-14Vulcain 2 Cryogenic Rocket Engine
Vulcain 2 liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen core engine providing 1,360 kN of thrust in flight.
Safran / ArianeGroup
Source SpaceStats Launch Manifest & Database
0 mission records cataloged in database
No individual manifest entries logged in database for Ariane 5.
Summary stats and flight achievements are detailed in the overview above.