ARIEL & Comet Interceptor

Overview

Destination: Sun-Earth L2
Mission: Planetary Science

Sun-Earth L2 Ariane Launch Area 4 Kourou, French Guiana

Atmospheric Remote sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large survey mission (ARIEL) is an ESA telescope. During a 4-year mission, ARIEL will observe 1000 planets orbiting distant stars and make the first large-scale survey of the chemistry of exoplanet atmospheres. For a select number of exoplanets, ARIEL will also perform a deep survey of their cloud systems and study seasonal and daily atmospheric variations. ARIEL shares the ride with another ESA mission, Comet Interceptor. It consists of three spacecraft which will be positioned at the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L2, where they will wait for a long-period comet or an interstellar object to come by. Once the desired target appears, the spacecraft will separate and perform a flyby of the target, compiling a detailed 3D profile of a comet.

Ariane 62

Family: Ariane 6
Configuration: 62

The Ariane 6 family is currently under development by the European Space Agency, with two variations including the Ariane 62 with two solid boosters intended for government and scientific missions.

See Ariane 6 Details
Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    63.0 m
  • Diameter
    5.4 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    5.4 m
  • Launch Mass
    530 T
  • Thrust
    10370 kN
Family
  • Name
    Ariane 62
  • Family
    Ariane 6
  • Variant
    62
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Ariane 62
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $85000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    10350 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    5000 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    6450 kg

ArianeGroup

Circle Image
CEO: André-Hubert Roussel Founded: 2015 Successes: 0 Failures: 0 Pending: 0

Agency Type: Commercial

ArianeGroup (formerly Airbus Safran Launchers) is an aerospace company based in France. A joint venture between Airbus and Safran, the company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux. It consists of three core arms: aerospace, defence and security.

INFO WIKI

Kourou, French Guiana

Ariane Launch Area 4


Falcon 9
Success
1 day, 17 hours ago
Starlink Group 6-30
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Soyuz 2.1b
Success
4 days, 1 hour ago
Razdan No. 1?
43/4 (43R) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Payload identity and Cosmos series number uncertain. The Razdan satellite is reportedly a new electro-optical reconnaissance satellite desi…


Long March 2D/YZ-3
Success
6 days, 12 hours ago
3 x SatNet test satellites
Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Officially described as "Satellite-Internet Technology Demonstration Satellite(s)" built by Chinese Academy of Sciences. Probable 3 (?) test satellit…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week ago
Starlink Group 6-29
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Chollima-1
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
Malligyong-1c
Malligyong-1 Pad - Sohae Satellite Launching Station, Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province, Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Malligyong-1c (meaning "Telescope-1") is the third attempt by North Korea to launch a satellite officially declared to be for military reconnaissance…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
Starlink Group 7-7
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 22 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Starship
Partial Failure
1 week, 4 days ago
Integrated Flight Test 2
Orbital Launch Mount A - SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA

Second test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle. The booster is expected to separate 170 seconds into flight and return to land approxima…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
Starlink Group 6-28
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 2C/YZ-1S
Success
1 week, 6 days ago
Haiyang 3-01
Launch Area 4 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Next generation Chinese ocean color measurements satellite to study ocean ecology and effects on biological cycles and the climate.


Falcon 9
Success
2 weeks, 3 days ago
O3b mPower 5 & 6
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

Fifth and sixth of a constellation of eleven high-throughput communications satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) built by Boeing and operated by SE…