Ariane 5 development

Ariane 5 was designed to be upgraded over its years of operation. This infographics shows the proposed models in 2002 six years after the first launch of Ariane 5. Launcher performance was significantly increased by upgrade programmes already underway at the time to meet evolving market requirements.

Ariane 5 was Europe’s principal launch system for more than a quarter century, flying 117 times between 1996 and 2023 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Notable payloads include ESA’s comet-chasing Rosetta mission, a dozen of Europe’s Galileo navigation satellites – orbited by just three launches – and the James Webb Space Telescope. Ariane 5’s final ESA mission sent Juice on its way to explore Jupiter and its icy moons.