64-469: This is a list of launch complexes where a Launch complex is a facility from which different types of launch vehicles are launched. It may contain one or more launch pads or suitable sites to mount a transportable launch pad. Launch vehicle A launch vehicle is typically a rocket -powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites ) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space . The most common form
128-425: A 5.4 m (18 ft) diameter by 30.5 m (100 ft) high tank with two compartments, one for liquid oxygen and one for liquid hydrogen , and a Vulcain 2 engine at the base with a vacuum thrust of 1,390 kN (310,000 lb f ). The H173 EPC weighed about 189 t (417,000 lb), including 175 t (386,000 lb) of propellant. After the main cryogenic stage runs out of fuel, it re-entered
192-482: A European launch vehicle, providing supplies to the space station with necessary propellant, water, air and dry cargo. This was the first operational Ariane mission which involved an engine restart in the upper stage. The ES-ATV Aestus EPS upper stage was restartable while the ECA HM7-B engine was not. On 1 July 2009, an Ariane 5ECA launched TerreStar-1 (now EchoStar T1), which was then, at 6,910 kg (15,230 lb),
256-498: A commercial record, lifting Yahsat 1A and Intelsat New Dawn with a total payload weight of 10,064 kg (22,187 lb) to transfer orbit. This record was later broken again during the launch of Ariane 5ECA flight VA-208 on 2 August 2012, lifting a total of 10,182 kg (22,447 lb) into the planned geosynchronous transfer orbit, which was broken again 6 months later on flight VA-212 with 10,317 kg (22,745 lb) sent towards geosynchronous transfer orbit. In June 2016,
320-638: A commonly used dual-launch capability, where up to two large geostationary belt communication satellites can be mounted using a SYLDA ( Système de Lancement Double Ariane , meaning "Ariane Double-Launch System") carrier system. Up to three, somewhat smaller, main satellites are possible depending on size using a SPELTRA ( Structure Porteuse Externe Lancement Triple Ariane , which translates to "Ariane Triple-Launch External Carrier Structure"). Up to eight secondary payloads, usually small experiment packages or minisatellites , could be carried with an ASAP (Ariane Structure for Auxiliary Payloads) platform. Following
384-404: A design might not have been possible if the higher Max-Q for the launch of this launch vehicle would have posed a constraint on the mass delivered to orbit. The design brief of the next generation launch vehicle Ariane 6 called for a lower-cost and smaller launch vehicle capable of launching a single satellite of up to 6,500 kg (14,300 lb) to GTO. However, after several permutations
448-578: A new commercial payload lifting record of 8,200 kg (18,100 lb). The dual-payload consisted of the Thaicom 5 and Satmex 6 satellites. On 4 May 2007, the Ariane 5ECA set another new commercial record, lifting into transfer orbit the Astra 1L and Galaxy 17 communication satellites with a combined weight of 8,600 kg (19,000 lb), and a total payload weight of 9,400 kg (20,700 lb). This record
512-529: A rocket stage may be recovered while others are not. The Space Shuttle , for example, recovered and reused its solid rocket boosters , the Space Shuttle orbiter that also acted as a second stage, and the engines used by the core stage (the RS-25 , which was located at the back of the orbiter), however the fuel tank that the engines sourced fuel from, which was separate from the engines, was not reused. For example,
576-544: A streak of 82 consecutive successful launches between 9 April 2003 and 12 December 2017. Since 2014, Ariane 6 , a direct successor system, first launched in 2024. The system was designed as an expendable launch vehicle by the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), the French government's space agency, in cooperation with various European partners. Despite not being a direct derivative of its predecessor launch vehicle program, it
640-571: A telemetry loss occurred between the launch vehicle and the ground controllers. It was later confirmed, about 1 hour and 20 minutes after launch, that both satellites were successfully separated from the upper stage and were in contact with their respective ground controllers, but that their orbital inclinations were incorrect as the guidance systems might have been compromised. Therefore, both satellites conducted orbital procedures, extending commissioning time. SES-14 needed about 8 weeks longer than planned commissioning time, meaning that entry into service
704-778: A third burn after ATV deployment to de-orbit the stage. This procedure was repeated for all subsequent ATV flights. Ariane 5ECA used the ESC ( Étage Supérieur Cryotechnique — Cryogenic Upper Stage), which was fueled by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The ESC used the HM7B engine previously used in the Ariane 4 third stage. The propellent load of 14.7 tonne allowed the engine to burn for 945 seconds while providing 6.5 tonne of thrust. The ESC provided roll control during powered flight and full attitude control during payload separation using hydrogen gas thrusters. Oxygen gas thrusters allowed longitudinal acceleration after engine cutoff. The flight assembly included
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#1732855310072768-643: Is developing the first stage of the orbital New Glenn LV to be reusable, with first flight planned for no earlier than 2024. SpaceX has a new super-heavy launch vehicle under development for missions to interplanetary space . The SpaceX Starship is designed to support RTLS, vertical-landing and full reuse of both the booster stage and the integrated second-stage/large-spacecraft that are designed for use with Starship. Its first launch attempt took place in April 2023; however, both stages were lost during ascent. The fifth launch attempt ended with Booster 12 being caught by
832-463: Is the ballistic missile -shaped multistage rocket , but the term is more general and also encompasses vehicles like the Space Shuttle . Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pad , supported by a launch control center and systems such as vehicle assembly and fueling. Launch vehicles are engineered with advanced aerodynamics and technologies, which contribute to high operating costs. An orbital launch vehicle must lift its payload at least to
896-505: The Ariane 4 where efficiency considerations (the computer running the software had an 80% maximum workload requirement ) led to four variables being protected with a handler while three others, including the horizontal bias variable, were left unprotected because it was thought that they were "physically limited or that there was a large margin of safety". The software, written in Ada , was included in
960-619: The European Space Agency is responsible for the Ariane V , and the United Launch Alliance manufactures and launches the Delta IV and Atlas V rockets. Launchpads can be located on land ( spaceport ), on a fixed ocean platform ( San Marco ), on a mobile ocean platform ( Sea Launch ), and on a submarine . Launch vehicles can also be launched from the air . A launch vehicle will start off with its payload at some location on
1024-444: The upper stage of the launch vehicle or launched to a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). A direct insertion places greater demands on the launch vehicle, while GTO is more demanding of the spacecraft. Once in orbit, launch vehicle upper stages and satellites can have overlapping capabilities, although upper stages tend to have orbital lifetimes measured in hours or days while spacecraft can last decades. Distributed launch involves
1088-467: The 2000s and launch vehicles with integrated distributed launch capability built in began development in 2017 with the Starship design. The standard Starship launch architecture is to refuel the spacecraft in low Earth orbit to enable the craft to send high-mass payloads on much more energetic missions. After 1980, but before the 2010s, two orbital launch vehicles developed the capability to return to
1152-419: The Ariane 5 through the reuse of an entire Ariane 4 subsystem despite the fact that the particular software containing the bug, which was just a part of the subsystem, was not required by the Ariane 5 because it has a different preparation sequence than the Ariane 4. The second test flight (L502, on 30 October 1997) was a partial failure. The Vulcain nozzle caused a roll problem, leading to premature shutdown of
1216-455: The Ariane 5ECA took place on 12 February 2005. The payload consisted of the XTAR-EUR military communications satellite, a 'SLOSHSAT' small scientific satellite and a MaqSat B2 payload simulator. The launch had been scheduled for October 2004, but additional testing and a military launch (of a Helios 2A observation satellite) delayed the attempt. On 11 August 2005, the first Ariane 5GS (featuring
1280-539: The Ariane 5ECA's improved solid motors) boosted Thaicom 4 , the heaviest telecommunications satellite to date at 6,505 kg (14,341 lb), into orbit. On 16 November 2005, the third Ariane 5ECA launch (the second successful ECA launch) took place. It carried a dual payload consisting of Spaceway F2 for DirecTV and Telkom-2 for PT Telekomunikasi of Indonesia . This was the launch vehicle's heaviest dual payload to date, at more than 8,000 kg (18,000 lb). On 27 May 2006, an Ariane 5ECA launch vehicle set
1344-535: The Ariane 5ME with total development effort expected to cost €1 billion. On 21 November 2012, ESA agreed to continue with the Ariane 5ME to meet the challenge of lower priced competitors. It was agreed the Vinci upper stage would also be used as the second stage of a new Ariane 6, and further commonality would be sought. Ariane 5ME qualification flight was scheduled for mid-2018, followed by gradual introduction into service. On 2 December 2014, ESA decided to stop funding
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#17328553100721408-461: The Ariane programme, but this was most likely an inference based on early blueprints of the Ariane 6 having a central P80 booster and 2-4 around the main one. The incorporation of the ESC-B with the improvements to the solid motor casing and an uprated Vulcain engine would have delivered 27,000 kg (60,000 lb) to LEO. This would have been developed for any lunar missions but the performance of such
1472-676: The GTO record was raised to 10,730 kg (23,660 lb), on the first rocket in history that carried a satellite dedicated to financial institutions. The payload record was pushed a further 5 kg (11 lb), up to 10,735 kg (23,667 lb) on 24 August 2016 with the launch of Intelsat 33e and Intelsat 36 . On 1 June 2017, the payload record was broken again to 10,865 kg (23,953 lb) carrying ViaSat-2 and Eutelsat-172B . In 2021 VA-255 put 11,210 kg into GTO. On 25 January 2018, an Ariane 5ECA launched SES-14 and Al Yah 3 satellites. About 9 minutes and 28 seconds after launch,
1536-565: The Guiana Space Center for analysis. Prior to that mission, the last such recovery and testing was done in 2003. The French M51 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) shared a substantial amount of technology with these boosters. In February 2000, the suspected nose cone of an Ariane 5 booster washed ashore on the South Texas coast, and was recovered by beachcombers before the government could get to it. The second stage
1600-465: The Vehicle Equipment Bay, with flight electronics for the entire rocket, and the payload interface and structural support. The payload and all upper stages were covered at launch by a fairing for aerodynamic stability and protection from heating during supersonic flight and acoustic loads. It was jettisoned once sufficient altitude has been reached, typically above 100 km (62 mi). It
1664-498: The W3B satellite failed to operate shortly after the successful launch and was written off as a total loss due to an oxidizer leak in the satellite's main propulsion system. The BSAT-3b satellite, however, is operating normally. The VA253 launch on 15 August 2020 introduced two small changes that increased lift capacity by about 85 kg (187 lb); these were a lighter avionics and guidance-equipment bay, and modified pressure vents on
1728-537: The accomplishment of a goal with multiple spacecraft launches. A large spacecraft such as the International Space Station can be constructed by assembling modules in orbit, or in-space propellant transfer conducted to greatly increase the delta-V capabilities of a cislunar or deep space vehicle. Distributed launch enables space missions that are not possible with single launch architectures. Mission architectures for distributed launch were explored in
1792-530: The atmosphere for an ocean splashdown. Attached to the sides were two P241 (P238 for Ariane 5G and G+) solid rocket boosters (SRBs or EAPs from the French Étages d'Accélération à Poudre ), each weighing about 277 t (611,000 lb) full and delivering a thrust of about 7,080 kN (1,590,000 lb f ). They were fueled by a mix of ammonium perchlorate (68%) and aluminium fuel (18%) and HTPB (14%). They each burned for 130 seconds before being dropped into
1856-530: The booster stage of a launch vehicle. After 2010, SpaceX undertook a development program to acquire the ability to bring back and vertically land a part of the Falcon 9 orbital launch vehicle: the first stage . The first successful landing was done in December 2015, since 2017 rocket stages routinely land either at a landing pad adjacent to the launch site or on a landing platform at sea, some distance away from
1920-838: The boundary of space, approximately 150 km (93 mi) and accelerate it to a horizontal velocity of at least 7,814 m/s (17,480 mph). Suborbital vehicles launch their payloads to lower velocity or are launched at elevation angles greater than horizontal. Practical orbital launch vehicles use chemical propellants such as solid fuel , liquid hydrogen , kerosene , liquid oxygen , or hypergolic propellants . Launch vehicles are classified by their orbital payload capacity, ranging from small- , medium- , heavy- to super-heavy lift . Launch vehicles are classed by NASA according to low Earth orbit payload capability: Sounding rockets are similar to small-lift launch vehicles, however they are usually even smaller and do not place payloads into orbit. A modified SS-520 sounding rocket
1984-485: The core stage. The upper stage operated successfully, but it could not reach the intended orbit. A subsequent test flight (L503, on 21 October 1998) proved successful and the first commercial launch (L504) occurred on 10 December 1999 with the launch of the XMM-Newton X-ray observatory satellite. Another partial failure occurred on 12 July 2001, with the delivery of two satellites into an incorrect orbit, at only half
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2048-547: The development of Ariane 5ME and instead focus on Ariane 6, which was expected to have a lower cost per launch and allow more flexibility in the payloads (using two or four P120C solid boosters depending on total payload mass). Work on the Ariane 5 EAP motors was continued in the Vega programme. The Vega 1st stage engine – the P80 engine – was a shorter derivation of the EAP. The P80 booster casing
2112-504: The failure of the first ECA flight in 2002, combined with a deteriorating satellite industry, caused ESA to cancel development in 2003. Development of the Vinci engine continued, though at a lower pace. The ESA Council of Ministers agreed to fund development of the new upper stage in November 2008. In 2009, EADS Astrium was awarded a €200 million contract, and on 10 April 2012 received another €112 million contract to continue development of
2176-616: The finalized design was nearly identical in performance to the Ariane 5, focusing instead on lowering fabrication costs and launch prices. As of March 2014 , Ariane 6 was projected to be launched for about €70 million per flight, about half of the Ariane 5 price. Initially development of Ariane 6 was projected to cost €3.6 billion. In 2017, the ESA set 16 July 2020 as the deadline for the first flight. The Ariane 6 successfully completed its maiden flight on 9 July 2024. Ariane 5's first test flight ( Ariane 5 Flight 501 ) on 4 June 1996 failed, with
2240-528: The first ECA launch was the last failure of an Ariane 5 until flight 240 in January 2018. On 27 September 2003, the last Ariane 5G boosted three satellites (including the first European lunar probe, SMART-1 ), in Flight 162. On 18 July 2004, an Ariane 5G+ boosted what was at the time the heaviest telecommunication satellite ever, Anik F2 , weighing almost 6,000 kg (13,000 lb). The first successful launch of
2304-442: The ground. In contrast, reusable launch vehicles are designed to be recovered intact and launched again. The Falcon 9 is an example of a reusable launch vehicle. As of 2023, all reusable launch vehicles that were ever operational have been partially reusable, meaning some components are recovered and others are not. This usually means the recovery of specific stages, usually just the first stage, but sometimes specific components of
2368-526: The height of the intended GTO. The ESA Artemis telecommunications satellite was able to reach its intended orbit on 31 January 2003, through the use of its experimental ion propulsion system. The next launch did not occur until 1 March 2002, when the Envisat environmental satellite successfully reached an orbit of 800 km (500 mi) above the Earth in the 11th launch. At 8,111 kg (17,882 lb), it
2432-508: The intended altitude, they had been programmed for the standard geostationary transfer orbit of 90° when the payloads were intended to be 70° for this supersynchronous transfer orbit mission, 20° off norme. This mission anomaly marked the end of 82nd consecutive success streak since 2003. Ariane 5 launch vehicles had accumulated 117 launches, 112 of which were successful, yielding a 95.7% success rate. Between April 2003 and December 2017, Ariane 5 flew 83 consecutive missions without failure, but
2496-541: The largest and most massive commercial telecommunication satellite ever built at that time until being overtaken by Telstar 19 Vantage , at 7,080 kg (15,610 lb), launched aboard Falcon 9 . The satellite was launched into a lower-energy orbit than a usual GTO, with its initial apogee at roughly 17,900 km (11,100 mi). On 28 October 2010, an Ariane 5ECA launched Eutelsat 's W3B (part of its W Series of satellites) and Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT)'s BSAT-3b satellites into orbit. But
2560-551: The launch of 15 August 2020, Arianespace signed the contracts for the last eight Ariane 5 launches, before it was succeeded by the new Ariane 6 launcher, according to Daniel Neuenschwander, director of space transportation at the ESA. Ariane 5 flew its final mission on 5 July 2023. Ariane 5's cryogenic H173 main stage (H158 for Ariane 5G, G+, and GS) was called the EPC ( Étage Principal Cryotechnique — Cryotechnic Main Stage). It consisted of
2624-514: The launch site (RTLS). Both the US Space Shuttle —with one of its abort modes —and the Soviet Buran had a designed-in capability to return a part of the launch vehicle to the launch site via the mechanism of horizontal-landing of the spaceplane portion of the launch vehicle. In both cases, the main vehicle thrust structure and the large propellant tank were expendable , as had been
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2688-556: The launch site. The Falcon Heavy is similarly designed to reuse the three cores comprising its first stage. On its first flight in February 2018, the two outer cores successfully returned to the launch site landing pads while the center core targeted the landing platform at sea but did not successfully land on it. Blue Origin developed similar technologies for bringing back and landing their suborbital New Shepard , and successfully demonstrated return in 2015, and successfully reused
2752-631: The launch tower, and Ship 30, the upper stage, successfully landing in the Indian Ocean. Ariane V Ariane 5 is a retired European heavy-lift space launch vehicle operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was launched from the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in French Guiana . It was used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), low Earth orbit (LEO) or further into space. The launch vehicle had
2816-751: The new Ariane 6 . With first flight planned for 2018, it would have become ESA's principal launcher until the arrival of the new Ariane 6 version. ESA halted funding for the development of Ariane 5ME in late 2014 to prioritize development of Ariane 6. The Ariane 5ME was to use a new upper stage, with increased propellant volume, powered by the new Vinci engine . Unlike the HM-7B engine, it was to be able to restart several times, allowing for complex orbital maneuvers such as insertion of two satellites into different orbits, direct insertion into geosynchronous orbit, planetary exploration missions, and guaranteed upper stage deorbiting or insertion into graveyard orbit . The launcher
2880-505: The ocean. The SRBs were usually allowed to sink to the bottom of the ocean, but, like the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters , they could be recovered with parachutes, and this was occasionally done for post-flight analysis. Unlike Space Shuttle SRBs, Ariane 5 boosters were not reused. The most recent attempt was for the first Ariane 5 ECA mission in 2009. One of the two boosters was successfully recovered and returned to
2944-545: The payload fairing, which were required for the subsequent launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. It also debuted a location system using Galileo navigation satellites . On 25 December 2021, VA256 launched the James Webb Space Telescope towards a Sun–Earth L 2 halo orbit . The precision of trajectory following launch led to fuel savings credited with potentially doubling the lifetime of
3008-416: The rocket self-destructing 37 seconds after launch because of a malfunction in the control software. A data conversion from 64- bit floating-point value to 16-bit signed integer value to be stored in a variable representing horizontal bias caused a processor trap (operand error) because the floating-point value was too large to be represented by a 16-bit signed integer. The software had been written for
3072-496: The same booster on a second suborbital flight in January 2016. By October 2016, Blue had reflown, and landed successfully, that same launch vehicle a total of five times. The launch trajectories of both vehicles are very different, with New Shepard going straight up and down, whereas Falcon 9 has to cancel substantial horizontal velocity and return from a significant distance downrange. Both Blue Origin and SpaceX also have additional reusable launch vehicles under development. Blue
3136-428: The standard procedure for all orbital launch vehicles flown prior to that time. Both were subsequently demonstrated on actual orbital nominal flights, although both also had an abort mode during launch that could conceivably allow the crew to land the spaceplane following an off-nominal launch. In the 2000s, both SpaceX and Blue Origin have privately developed a set of technologies to support vertical landing of
3200-498: The surface of the Earth. To reach orbit, the vehicle must travel vertically to leave the atmosphere and horizontally to prevent re-contacting the ground. The required velocity varies depending on the orbit but will always be extreme when compared to velocities encountered in normal life. Launch vehicles provide varying degrees of performance. For example, a satellite bound for Geostationary orbit (GEO) can either be directly inserted by
3264-411: The telescope by leaving more hydrazine propellant on board for station-keeping than was expected. According to Rudiger Albat, the program manager for Ariane 5, efforts had been made to select components for this flight that had performed especially well during pre-flight testing, including "one of the best Vulcain engines that we've ever built." On 22 April 2011, the Ariane 5ECA flight VA-201 broke
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#17328553100723328-447: Was again broken by another Ariane 5ECA, launching the Skynet 5B and Star One C1 satellites, on 11 November 2007. The total payload weight for this launch was of 9,535 kg (21,021 lb). On 9 March 2008, the first Ariane 5ES-ATV was launched to deliver the first ATV called Jules Verne to the International Space Station (ISS). The ATV was the heaviest payload ever launched by
3392-430: Was also confirmed healthy after more than 12 hours without further statement, and like SES-14, Al Yah 3's maneuvering plan was also revised to still fulfill the original mission. As of 16 February 2018, Al Yah 3 was approaching the intended geostationary orbit, after series of recovery maneuvers had been performed. The investigation showed that invalid inertial units' azimuth value had sent the vehicle 17° off course but to
3456-417: Was also to include a lengthened fairing up to 20 m (66 ft) and a new dual launch system to accommodate larger satellites. Compared to an Ariane 5ECA model, the payload to GTO was to increase by 15% to 11,500 kg (25,400 lb) and the cost-per-kilogram of each launch was projected to decline by 20%. Originally known as the Ariane 5 ECB , Ariane 5ME was to have its first flight in 2006. However,
3520-409: Was capable of repeated ignition, first demonstrated during flight V26 which was launched on 5 October 2007. This was purely to test the engine, and occurred after the payloads had been deployed. The first operational use of restart capability as part of a mission came on 9 March 2008, when two burns were made to deploy the first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) into a circular parking orbit, followed by
3584-519: Was classified as part of the Ariane rocket family . Aérospatiale , and later ArianeGroup , was the prime contractor for the manufacturing of the vehicles, leading a multi-country consortium of other European contractors. Ariane 5 was originally intended to launch the Hermes spacecraft, and thus it was rated for human space launches . Since its first launch, Ariane 5 was refined in successive versions: "G", "G+", "GS", "ECA", and finally, "ES". The system had
3648-514: Was lost in the Atlantic Ocean . The fault was determined to have been caused by a leak in coolant pipes allowing the nozzle to overheat. After this failure, Arianespace SA delayed the expected January 2003 launch for the Rosetta mission to 26 February 2004, but this was again delayed to early March 2004 due to a minor fault in the foam that protects the cryogenic tanks on the Ariane 5. The failure of
3712-419: Was made by Ruag Space and since flight VA-238 it was composed of 4 panels. As of November 2014 , the Ariane 5 commercial launch price for launching a "midsize satellite in the lower position" was approximately €50 million, competing for commercial launches in an increasingly competitive market . The heavier satellite was launched in the upper position on a typical dual-satellite Ariane 5 launch and
3776-468: Was made of filament wound graphite epoxy, much lighter than the current stainless steel casing. A new composite steerable nozzle was developed while new thermal insulation material and a narrower throat improved the expansion ratio and subsequently the overall performance. Additionally, the nozzle had electromechanical actuators which replaced the heavier hydraulic ones used for thrust vector control. These developments could maybe have made their way back into
3840-445: Was on top of the main stage and below the payload. The original Ariane — Ariane 5G — used the EPS ( Étage à Propergols Stockables — Storable Propellant Stage), which was fueled by monomethylhydrazine (MMH) and nitrogen tetroxide , containing 10,000 kg (22,000 lb) of storable propellant . The EPS was subsequently improved for use on the Ariane 5G+, GS, and ES. The EPS upper stage
3904-422: Was priced higher than the lower satellite, on the order of €90 million as of 2013 . Total launch price of an Ariane 5 – which could transport up to two satellites to space, one in the "upper" and one in the "lower" positions – was around €150 million as of January 2015 . The Ariane 5 ME (Mid-life Evolution) was in development into early 2015, and was seen as a stopgap between Ariane 5ECA/Ariane 5ES and
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#17328553100723968-494: Was reported early September instead of July. Nevertheless, SES-14 is still expected to be able to meet the designed lifetime. This satellite was originally to be launched with more propellant reserve on a Falcon 9 launch vehicle since the Falcon 9, in this specific case, was intended to deploy this satellite into a high inclination orbit that would require more work from the satellite to reach its final geostationary orbit. The Al Yah 3
4032-472: Was the heaviest single payload until the launch of the first ATV on 9 March 2008, at 19,360 kg (42,680 lb). The first launch of the ECA variant on 11 December 2002 ended in failure when a main booster problem caused the rocket to veer off-course, forcing its self-destruction three minutes into the flight. Its payload of two communications satellites ( STENTOR and Hot Bird 7 ), valued at about €630 million,
4096-596: Was used to place a 4-kilogram payload ( TRICOM-1R ) into orbit in 2018. Orbital spaceflight requires a satellite or spacecraft payload to be accelerated to very high velocity. In the vacuum of space, reaction forces must be provided by the ejection of mass, resulting in the rocket equation . The physics of spaceflight are such that rocket stages are typically required to achieve the desired orbit. Expendable launch vehicles are designed for one-time use, with boosters that usually separate from their payload and disintegrate during atmospheric reentry or on contact with
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