Final Ariane 5 launch in June
May 17, 2023
By Chris Forrester
Arianespace will launch its final Ariane 5 rocket on June 16th. The mission aims to launch two satellites: Syracuse 4B, built by Airbus Defence and Space for a French government defence role, and the Heinrich-Hertz-Mission, built by OHB for the German space agency DLR.
The flight represents the end of the Ariane 5, a system which has launched 116 times.
Syracuse 4B will provide communications for the French armed forces.
The Heinrich-Hertz craft will test and evaluate new technologies for satellite communication, including on-board communications processing.
However, the long and illustrious series of missions for Ariane 5 (its last launch failure was back in 2002) now means an inevitable gap in European heavy-lift launching. Its replacement, the much-delayed Ariane 6 craft (pictured), seems not likely to make a debut test flight until the early part of 2024.
A recent report from the key partners in Ariane 6’s development suggests that assembly of the new rocket will not start until November this year.