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| Ariane 5 ES Heavy Lift Rocket |
Developed for the ESA or European Space Agency by Arainespace, it launches from CSG or the Centre Spatial Guyanais in French Guiana. Powerful enough to move big payloads to GTO or geostationary transfer orbit, it previously launched 82 times successfully from April 9th 2013 to December 12th 2017, making it a highly reliable vehicle to put the JWST into L2 to make NASA premier observatory become a reality - launching 7:20a EST, Dec. 24th, 2021 & broadcast live streaming on NASA's respective YouTube channel!
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| Vulcain 2 Main Stage Rocket Engine |
Fueled by a large 30.5 m (100 ft) fuel tank containing insulated LH2 & LOX tanks, with a vacuum thrust of 1,390 kN (310,000 lb*f) The entire engine, tank & rocket assembly full of fuels has a mass of 189 t (417,000 lb) & incredibly the fuel mass 175 t (386,000 lb), after launching this stage reinters the atmosphere for an ocean splash landing. This means the entire rocket only weighs about (mass of) 14 t or (31,000 lb)
Heavy Launch SRB's
Boosters for the heavy launch vehicle configuration consist of two solid rocket engines strapped rotationally symmetrically around the vertical axis, see first image above. Each of these SRB have a mass of 277 t (611,000 lb) delivering thrust output of 7,080 kN or (1,590,000 lb*f). Fuel comprised of a mixture of an ammonium perchlorate oxidizer 68% & aluminum powder fuel 18% & HTPB combustible rubber binder to unite the powdered oxidize & fuel into a homogenous mixture that is solid, that burns like a chemical candle, emitting heat & light, like an M80 firecracker filled with a few grams of flash-powder made of the same oxidizer & fuel with similar mass ratios. Oxidizing aluminum like this makes a sapphire powder emission, nano fine sapphire dust that an excellent abrasive, see aluminum oxide, for sandpaper, metal polishing & many other applications in ceramics & functional coatings, heat resistant materials, insulation & so forth. After launch, they empty shells are allowed to sink in the ocean, only sometimes recovered by parashoot for analysis. These are not reusable SRB's like the ones employed by the Space Shuttle from NASA!
Second Stage
Heavy Launch SRB's
Boosters for the heavy launch vehicle configuration consist of two solid rocket engines strapped rotationally symmetrically around the vertical axis, see first image above. Each of these SRB have a mass of 277 t (611,000 lb) delivering thrust output of 7,080 kN or (1,590,000 lb*f). Fuel comprised of a mixture of an ammonium perchlorate oxidizer 68% & aluminum powder fuel 18% & HTPB combustible rubber binder to unite the powdered oxidize & fuel into a homogenous mixture that is solid, that burns like a chemical candle, emitting heat & light, like an M80 firecracker filled with a few grams of flash-powder made of the same oxidizer & fuel with similar mass ratios. Oxidizing aluminum like this makes a sapphire powder emission, nano fine sapphire dust that an excellent abrasive, see aluminum oxide, for sandpaper, metal polishing & many other applications in ceramics & functional coatings, heat resistant materials, insulation & so forth. After launch, they empty shells are allowed to sink in the ocean, only sometimes recovered by parashoot for analysis. These are not reusable SRB's like the ones employed by the Space Shuttle from NASA!
Second Stage
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| Araine 5 Second Stage |
Mounted on-top of the main stage, under the payload. The 5G original version used hypergolic monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) & nitrogen tetroxide, 10,000 kg (22,000 lb) propellent stored. The 5G+ version uses a cryogenic LH2-LOX. This engine can be dynamically stopped & started in the vacuum of space, as a two burn event demonstrated the ability to park a payload into a circular parking orbit, after which a 3d burn was used to de-orbit that state, a procedure repeated in subsequent ATV flights.
The upper stage & payload inside a fairing made from 4 segmented panels, that provides aerodynamic & protection from heating at supersonic speeds & related acoustical loads; typically ejected at 100 km (62 mi) altitude.
Launch Costs (prices subject to changes, inflation, market fluctuations, & other variables)
€50 million for a medium sized satellite to a lower orbit; as of 2014
€90 million for a heavier satellite to an upper position, as of 2013
€150 million for one satellite to lower orbit & one to upper orbit on the same flight: as of 2015
This rocket similar to competitive commercial alternatives, including:
Atlas V 551
Delta IV Heavy
Falcon 9 Block 5
H-11B
Long March 5
Delta IV Heavy
Falcon 9 Block 5
H-11B
Long March 5
Proton M
GSLV Mark III
GSLV Mark III
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