spacetoday.net: Ariane 5 launches for the final time

Posted: Sat, Jul 8, 2023, 1:35 PM ET (1735 GMT)
Ariane 5 final launch (ESA)

The Ariane 5 launched for the final time Wednesday. The rocket lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, at 6:00 pm EDT (2200 GMT) and deployed the Heinrich-Hertz-Satellit and Syracuse 4B satellites into geostationary transfer orbits about a half-hour later. Heinrich-Hertz-Satellit was built by OHB for the German government to test communications technologies, while Syracuse 4B was developed by a consortium of Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space to provide communications for the French military. The launch was the 117th and final mission for the Ariane 5, which made its introduction in 1996. The retirement of the Ariane 5 leaves Europe temporarily without launch capability because of problems with the Vega C rocket and delays in the Ariane 6, whose first flight is likely to slip into 2024.