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Ariane 5
53m
Human (1.8m)
1.8m
Ariane 5 / Credits: Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons)
France / EuropeRetired1996–2023
Ariane 5
ArianeGroup / ESA
Europe's heavy-lift cornerstone for nearly three decades — launched the James Webb Space Telescope.
Ariane 5 was the European Space Agency's primary heavy-lift rocket from 1996 to 2023. Its perfect injection of the James Webb Space Telescope in December 2021 was so accurate it extended JWST's mission lifetime by years. It was retired in July 2023 ahead of Ariane 6.
Fun facts
Ariane 5's precision when launching the James Webb Space Telescope was so high that it extended the mission's lifetime by over a decade.
On its first flight in 1996, Ariane 5 exploded after 39 seconds — due to a software bug ported over from Ariane 4.
The rocket completed 111 consecutive successful flights before its final mission in 2023.
Height
53 m
Diameter
5.4 m
Mass
777 t
Stages
2
Thrust
15,120 kN
Payload LEO
21,000 kg
Payload GTO
10,865 kg
Total flights
117
Success rate97.0%
112 success3 partial2 failure
No upcoming launches scheduled.
