The ARIANE family

The development of the ARIANE launch vehicle was completed with the success of two qualification launches. This program led to an operational vehicle able to launch payloads of about 1800 kg on transfer to geostationary orbit. Two complementary development phases were decided in order to optimize the launch vehicle with respect to the evolution of payloads and thus to increase competitivity. The ARIANE 3 model is able to launch 2600 kg in transfer and is scheduled to begin operations in 1983. The ARIANE 4 has six different models for payloads ranging from 2000 kg to 4300 kg and will be available at the end of 1985. In parallel, the commercial credibility of ARIANE launch vehicles is being increased by the completion of the second launch pad in Kourou (French Guyana) that will start operations at the beginning of 1985.