Success
CAT 1
Test Flight
European Space Agency(ESA)Multinational
Ariane 1
Ellipticalorbit
Vehicle evaluation payload for the Ariane 1 launch vehicle
Monday, December 24, 1979 at 5:14 PM
Mission details
Orbital Attempt
#2,281
ESA Mission
#1
Pad Launch
#2
Location Launch
#10
Designator
1979-104
Launch Window
NET
Dec 24, 1979, 5:14 PM
Schedule Changes
1 update
Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV)
ELA-1, now named Ensemble de Lancement Vega (short ELV), is a launch pad at the Centre Spatial Guyanais in French Guiana. It has been used to support launches of the Europa rocket, Ariane 1, Ariane 3, and is currently used to launch Vega rockets.
Total Launches
55
Orbital Attempts
55
Fastest Turnaround
1mo 25d
Ariane 1 Specs
Ariane 1 was the first rocket in the Ariane family of expendable launch systems. It was developed and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), which had been formed in 1973, the same year that development of the launch had commenced.
Length
50 m
Diameter
3.8 m
Launch Mass
207 t
Thrust
2,771 kN
LEO Capacity
1,400 kg
GTO Capacity
1,850 kg
Reusable
No
Maiden Flight
1979
Fastest Turnaround
2mo 19d
Total Launches
11
Successful
9
Failed
2
Consecutive Success
6
Maiden flight: Dec 24, 1979
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency is an intergovernmental organisation of 22 member states. Established in 1975 and headquartered in Paris, France, ESA has a worldwide staff of about 2,000 employees. ESA's space flight programme includes human spaceflight (mainly through participation in the International Space Station program); the launch and operation of unmanned exploration missions to other planets and the Moon; Earth observation, science and telecommunication; designing launch vehicles; and maintaining a major spaceport, the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou, French Guiana.
Founded
1975
Administrator
Director General: Josef Aschbacher
Total Launches
7
Successful
6
Failed
1
Pending
1
Consecutive Success
5
Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
The Guiana Space Centre is a European spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, a region of France in South America. Kourou is located at a latitude of 5°. In operation since 1968, it is a suitable location for a spaceport because of its equatorial location and open sea to the east.
Timezone
America/Cayenne
Local Launch Time
Dec 24, 1979, 2:14 PM
Total Launches
333
Total Landings
0
Coordinates
5.1690, -52.6903