Family-level launch record combining canonical variants, historical missions, public cadence forecasts, and available payload performance specs.
Historical missions are grouped by actual launch year. Forecast cadence uses family-level launch-rate rows.
| Year | Historical missions | Forecast launches |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 7 | 0 |
| 2017 | 6 | 0 |
| 2018 | 6 | 0 |
| 2019 | 4 | 0 |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 |
Payload capacity by variant and target orbit when structured capacity rows are available.
| Variant | Orbit | Capacity | Altitude | Inclination | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No performance specsNo structured payload capacity rows are linked to this vehicle family. | |||||
Latest launched missions using variants in this family.
| Mission | Variant | Launch |
|---|---|---|
| H2SAT/Syracuse 4B | Ariane 5ECA+ | Jul 5, 2023 |
| JUICE Mission | Ariane 5ECA+ | Apr 14, 2023 |
| Galaxy 35/36/MTG-I1 | Ariane 5ECA+ | Dec 13, 2022 |
| Eutelsat Konnect VHTS Mission |
Canonical variants rolled up into this launch vehicle family.
| Variant | Stages | Missions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
Ariane 5ECA | Not stated | 72 | Retired |
Ariane 5ECA+ | Not stated | 12 | Retired |
Ariane 5ES | Not stated | 8 | Retired |
Ariane 5G | Not stated | 16 | Retired |
Ariane 5ECA+ |
| Sep 7, 2022 |
| Measat 3D/GSAT-24 | Ariane 5ECA+ | Jun 22, 2022 |
| JWST Mission | Ariane 5ECA+ | Dec 25, 2021 |
| SES-17/Syracuse 4A | Ariane 5ECA+ | Oct 24, 2021 |
| Star One D2/Eutelsat Q | Ariane 5ECA+ | Jul 30, 2021 |
Upcoming mission rows with announced launch timing.
| Mission | Variant | Announced |
|---|---|---|
No forecasted missionsNo upcoming announced mission rows are linked to this vehicle family. | ||
Ariane 5G+ | Not stated | 3 | Retired |
Ariane 5GS | Not stated | 6 | Retired |
The full stack of the Ariane 5 rocket and payload atop its mobile launch platform will be rolled out of the BAF to the launch pad two days before the scheduled 2021-12-22 launch.
ArianeGroup is the lead contractor for Europe’s Ariane 5 and Ariane 6 launcher families and is equally owned by Airbus and Safran.
The James Webb Space Telescope was scheduled to launch on an Ariane 5 from French Guiana on 2021-12-22.
Arianespace is slated to launch NASA’s $10,000,000,000 James Webb Space Telescope on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana on 2021-12-22.
Prior to VS26, 14 of the 26 Galileo satellites already in orbit had been launched by Soyuz between 2011 and 2016, and 12 had been launched by Ariane 5 between 2016 and 2018.
Ariane 5 is scheduled to launch the James Webb Space Telescope at 7:20 a.m. Eastern on 2021-12-22 from Kourou, French Guiana.
NASA, working in conjunction with the European Space Agency and Arianespace, moved JWST’s launch on an Ariane 5 from 2021-12-18 to no earlier than 2021-12-22 to perform additional testing of the spacecraft after the incident.
ArianeGroup is in charge of developing the Ariane 6 successor to Ariane 5 and of its production facilities.
Ariane 5 was preparing to launch the James Webb Space Telescope on 2021-12-18 as one of its last missions.
ArianeGroup decided to develop Ariane 6 as an expendable launcher to succeed Ariane 5 and to buy time to prepare reusable technology initiatives.
The 2021-10-23 Ariane 5 mission carried a total payload mass of 10,264 kg, the heaviest payload for a geostationary orbit mission by any vehicle to date.
Ariane 5 successfully launched a mission on 2021-10-23 placing the SES-17 communications satellite for SES and the Syracuse 4A communications satellite for France’s military into geostationary transfer orbit.
Arianespace launched the SES-17 satellite from French Guiana on 2021-10-23 at 10:10 a.m. Eastern on an Ariane 5 rocket.
Ariane 5 VA255 achieved a total performance of 11.2 metric tons and delivered payload mass of 10,264 kg at separation.
Ariane 5 VA255 reached a height of 56.4 m thanks to a 1.5-meter extension placed under the long fairing.
With its 111th mission, Ariane 5 set the record for the cumulative net mass ever delivered to Geostationary Transfer Orbit by a single launcher.
Ariane 5 VA255 successfully orbited two satellites built by Thales Alenia Space: SES-17 and SYRACUSE 4A.
Ariane 5 lifted off from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana on 2021-10-24 at 02:10 UTC for mission VA255.
ArianeGroup is the prime contractor responsible for development and production of the Ariane 5 and Ariane 6 launchers and leads an industrial network of more than 600 companies including 350 SMEs.
ArianeGroup oversees the entire Ariane 5 industrial supply chain and delivers a flight-ready vehicle on the launch pad to its subsidiary Arianespace.