ESA - Space Science - 24 December

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	The Ariane launch vehicle family

24 December

1979: On 24 December 1979, the first Ariane 1 was launched.

The first pan-European space launch vehicle had been called 'Europa'. Its first stage was a British 'Blue Streak' ballistic missile. The second stage was French and the third German. This project was plagued with difficulties due to unreliability – the project was scrapped without a single successful launch.

Europa was succeeded by 'Ariane 1' which was based on a replacement design for Europa.

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