ARIEL & Comet Interceptor

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Overview

Destination: Sun-Earth L2
Mission: Planetary Science

Sun-Earth L2 Ariane Launch Area 4 Guiana Space Centre, 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

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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

Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Ariane Launch Area 4


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