Comet Interceptor

Overview

Destination: Heliocentric N/A
Mission: Planetary Science

Heliocentric N/A Ariane Launch Area 4 Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

ESA's Comet Interceptor 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.

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • Jan. 14, 2026, 6:56 p.m.

Added launch after Comet Interceptor moves away from launching with ARIEL.


Ariane 64

Family:
Configuration: 64

Ariane 6 variant with four solid boosters, enabling heavier payloads.

See Details
Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    63.0 m
  • Diameter
    5.4 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    5.4 m
  • Launch Mass
    860.0 T
  • Thrust
    15000.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Ariane 64
  • Family
  • Variant
    64
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Ariane 64
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $90000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    21650.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    12000.0 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    14900.0 kg

ArianeGroup

ArianeGroup

(AG)

CEO: Christophe Bruneau Founded: 2015 Successes: 0 Failures: 0 Pending: 0

Agency Type:

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

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ESA’s Comet Interceptor mission moves up launch

A delay in one European Space Agency mission is creating an opportunity for an earlier, and more capable, launch for another ESA spacecraft. The post ESA’s Comet Interceptor mission moves up launch appeared first on SpaceNews.

Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

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