Ariane 1
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Ariane 1 was the first rocket in the Ariane family of expendable launch systems. It was developed and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), which had been formed in 1973, the same year that development of the launcher had commenced.
This rocket article contains payload capacity, but does not include orbital altitude or inclination, which greatly affects the capacity. |
Function | Medium lift launch vehicle |
---|---|
Manufacturer | Aérospatiale |
Country of origin | European Space Agency |
Size | |
Height | 50 m (160 ft) |
Diameter | 3.8 m (12 ft) |
Mass | 207,200 kg (456,800 lb) |
Stages | 3 |
Capacity | |
Payload to LEO | |
Mass | 4,850 kilograms (10,690 lb) |
Payload to GTO | |
Mass | 1,850 kilograms (4,080 lb) |
Launch history | |
Status | Retired |
Launch sites | ELA-1, Guiana Space Centre |
Total launches | 11 |
Success(es) | 9 |
Failure(s) | 2 |
First flight | 24 December 1979 |
Last flight | 22 February 1986 |
Type of passengers/cargo | Giotto |
First stage | |
Powered by | 4 Viking-5 |
Maximum thrust | 2,771.940 kN (623,157 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 281 s (2.76 km/s) |
Burn time | 145 seconds |
Propellant | N2O4 / UDMH |
Second stage | |
Powered by | 1 Viking-4 |
Maximum thrust | 720.965 kN (162,079 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 296 s (2.90 km/s) |
Burn time | 132 seconds |
Propellant | N2O4 / UDMH |
Third stage | |
Powered by | 1 HM7-A |
Maximum thrust | 61.674 kN (13,865 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 443 s (4.34 km/s) |
Burn time | 563 seconds |
Propellant | LH2 / LOX |
Ariane 1 was the first launcher to be developed with the primary purpose of sending commercial satellites into geosynchronous orbit. Crucially, it was designed with the ability of sending a pair of satellites into orbit on a single launcher, thus reducing costs. As the size of satellites grew, Ariane 1 quickly gave way to the more powerful Ariane 2 and Ariane 3 launchers, which were heavily based upon the original rocket.[1] The Ariane 4 was the last rocket to heavily draw upon the Ariane 1, as the successor rocket Ariane 5 uses a far greater proportion of all-new elements.