Arianespace Ariane 5

Ariane 5 is a retired European heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle that flew 117 missions between 1996 and 2023 from the ELA-3 pad at Guiana Space Centre, Kourou, French Guiana.^[1] The vehicle comprised a cryogenic core stage (Vulcain 2 engine, LH2/LOX), two solid strap-on boosters, and either a cryogenic upper stage (ESC-A, HM-7B engine) or a storable upper stage (EPS, Aestus engine), with a 5.4 m diameter fairing.^[2][3]

The primary commercial variant, Ariane 5 ECA, carried up to 9,600 kg to GTO on a dual-manifest; later ECA+ batches (PB and PC series) raised GTO capacity to approximately 10,200 kg^[3]; higher figures of 10,865-11,115 kg appear in other records and may reflect different manifest configurations.^[1] LEO capacity reached 21,000 kg to low-inclination orbit.^[3] The vehicle's final flight was on 2023-07-05.^[1] Notable EO payloads carried include Envisat (2002), Jason-1 (2001), METOP-A (2006), and the Meteosat Second Generation series.^[2][1]