Ariane 5 (launch vehicle)

2023: Launch of the latest Ariane 5 rocket

On July 5, 2023, an Ariane 5 rocket launched from the Kourou Cosmodrome in French Guiana. This is the last launch of the European Ariane 5 carrier - for some time the cosmonautics of the European Union will completely depend on the United States.

Initially, the launch was planned to be carried out on June 16, 2023, but due to identified technical malfunctions, the mission was postponed indefinitely. After eliminating the problems, the start was scheduled for July 4, 2023, but it also had to be postponed - due to bad weather conditions.

Ariane 5 rocket launched from Kourou cosmodrome in French Guiana

The rocket launched the Heinrich Hertz communications satellite of the OHB System into orbit by order of the German Space Agency. On the basis of the device, among other things, it is planned to test new communication technologies. Another payload was the military satellite Syracuse 4B, sent by order of the Ministry of the Armed Forces. France This spacecraft has protection against "the most extreme interference generation techniques." After deployment, both satellites will enter a geostationary orbit with an altitude of approximately 35,700 km.

The first launch of Ariane 5 took place in 1996, and by the beginning of July 2023, the carrier had started a total of 117 times. It is expected that after the cessation of operation of this rocket, it will be replaced by Ariane 6, but work on it has been delayed. It was originally planned that the operation of Ariane 6 will begin in 2020, but this period has been revised several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the difficulties that arose during the development of the rocket. As a result, Ariane 6 is expected to fly at the end of 2023 or early 2024. At the same time, Europe cannot use Russian Soyuz missiles due to the current geopolitical situation. Thus, European space missions became dependent on American launch vehicles.^[1]

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