Ariane family
Ariane 1
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.
Flights flown11
Success rate81.8%9/11
Payload to LEO1,400kg
Maiden flight1979-12-24
Peak year19812 flights
Ariane 1 is built by Aérospatiale of France. Company background, funding, contracts and news for this operator are tracked on Space Index. It first flew on 24 December 1979 and last flew on 22 February 1986.
Flight record
81.8% success rate9 of 11 flown · 2 failed
1979peak 1981 · 2 flights1986
First flight1979-12-24
Latest flight1986-02-22
Failures2
Consecutive successes6
Fastest turnaround79d 43m
Payload
| Low Earth orbit | 1,400kg |
|---|---|
| Geostationary transfer orbit | 1,850kg |
Vehicle
| Stages | 4 |
|---|---|
| Length | 50m |
| Diameter | 3.8m |
| Launch mass | 207t |
| Liftoff thrust | 2,771kN |
| Maiden flight | 1979-12-24 |
| Reusable | No |
Pads used
Orbits delivered
Geostationary Orbit7Elliptical Orbit2Asteroid1Sun-Synchronous Orbit1
Launch history
| Date | Mission | Pad | Orbit | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986-02-22 | Ariane 1 | SPOT 1 & Viking | Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Success |
| 1985-07-02 | Ariane 1 | Giotto | Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) | Asteroid | Success |
| 1984-05-23 | Ariane 1 | Spacenet 1 | Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) | Geostationary Orbit | Success |
| 1984-03-05 | Ariane 1 | Intelsat 508 | Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) | Geostationary Orbit | Success |
| 1983-10-19 | Ariane 1 | Intelsat 507 | Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) | Geostationary Orbit | Success |
| 1983-06-16 | Ariane 1 | ECS 1 | Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) | Geostationary Orbit | Success |
| 1982-09-09 | Ariane 1 | Marecs B & Sirio 2 | Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) | Geostationary Orbit | Failure |
| 1981-12-20 | Ariane 1 | Marecs 1 | Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) | Geostationary Orbit | Success |
| 1981-06-19 | Ariane 1 | Meteosat 2 | Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) | Geostationary Orbit | Success |
| 1980-05-23 | Ariane 1 | Firewheel | Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) | Elliptical Orbit | Failure |
| 1979-12-24 | Ariane 1 | CAT 1 | Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) | Elliptical Orbit | Success |
Specifications from Launch Library 2 by The Space Devs, launch records from Space Index. Derived figures are computed here; see sources and method.
Further reading: Wikipedia