Ariane-5 rocket launches one final time as Europe faces space launch gap

Europe’s Ariane-5 rocket has flown its final launch mission, leaving the continent in a difficult position as its replacement space vehicle is still in development.

The rocket’s final flight lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 10.00pm UTC on 5 July, successfully placing two payloads into their planned orbits – the German aerospace agency DLR’s Heinrich Hertz experimental communications satellite and the French communications satellite Syracuse 4b.

This was Ariane-5’s 117th outing since it began operations in 1996. It has accomplished numerous commercial and European institutional missions such as the ESA’s comet-chasing Rosetta, the Galileo navigation satellites as well as the James Webb Space Telescope.

Recently, the rocket also launched ESA’s Juice mission to survey Jupiter and its moons.

In total, Ariane-5 has launched more than 230 satellites into orbit in its period of operation.

The European Space Agency plans to continue the legacy of the rocket to meet new launch requirements with Ariane-6, the next generation rocket in the Ariane family.

The Ariane programme has been central to Europe’s space transportation for over 40 years, with each of its more powerful rocket iterations capable of carrying heavier satellites.

Ariane-6 is expected to lift more payload at less cost and fly more often, ESA noted, but it may not make its debut until next year.

This leaves Europe in a difficult situation, especially as it no longer uses Russian Soyuz rockets amid the war in Ukraine.

European satellites have instead looked to the US for launches.

For instance, the Euclid space telescope was launched last Saturday on a SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket from Florida.

Last month, ESA’s director general Josef Aschbacher acknowledged there would be a temporary gap in launch capability in Europe, marking the period between Ariane-5’s final flight and the beginning of the Ariane-6 service.

He said Ariane-6 will continue an invaluable service.

“This is guaranteed access to space for Europe. Because this makes it possible that we have navigation satellites, communication satellites, and Earth observation satellites – all the satellites we need in daily life. Without these rockets, they could not fly,” Mr Aschbacher said.