For 45+ years, we have opened roads around the Earth towards deep Space. We orbit. We pioneer. We push boundaries. #LaunchingAmbitions
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🚀 VA271 – LE-04 : Ariane 6's 10th flight is on the horizon!
Arianespace is preparing to launch 36 Amazon Leo satellites aboard Ariane 64 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. Liftoff is currently targeted for no earlier than November 23.
This will be the fourth Ariane 6 mission for Amazon Leo, bringing the total number of satellites launched by Arianespace for the constellation to 136, upon successful completion.
For this mission, Ariane 6 will fly in its most powerful configuration, with four P160C solid rocket boosters.
Another step in Ariane 6's operational ramp-up and our continued partnership with Amazon to help bring connectivity to more people around the world.
#LaunchingAmbitions #Ariane6
@AmazonLeo
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27 minutes with Ariane 5. 8 years to reach Mercury. 🚀
On 20 October 2018, BepiColombo lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport aboard Ariane 5.
Around 27 minutes later, the spacecraft separated from the launcher and began the next stage of its journey: an eight-year voyage through the inner Solar System to reach Mercury.
A few minutes with Ariane 5 were the first step in a journey lasting billions of kilometres.
From launch to separation, every minute was about putting BepiColombo on the right path for what came next.
#LaunchingAmbitions
@esa @JAXA_jp @CNES
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What can worlds millions of kilometres away teach us about our own? 🔭
From Mercury to Jupiter and its icy moons, scientific missions help us better understand how planets form, evolve and interact with their environments.
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BepiColombo is now approaching Mercury, while Juice continues its journey towards Jupiter.
Two extraordinary missions. Two journeys launched aboard Ariane 5.
Because exploring other worlds starts with getting there.
#LaunchingAmbitions
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Eight years ago today, BepiColombo began its journey to Mercury. 🚀
On 20 October 2018, the ESA/JAXA mission lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport aboard Ariane 5, beginning one of the most complex journeys through the inner Solar System.
Since then, BepiColombo has travelled billions of kilometres, using planetary flybys to gradually adjust its trajectory towards the closest planet to the Sun.
Eight years after launch, the journey that began in Kourou is entering its final chapter, bringing BepiColombo closer to the world it was built to explore.
A journey that started with Ariane 5, and continues to push our understanding of Mercury further.
#LaunchingAmbitions
@esa @JAXA_jp @CNES
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📦 Ariane 6's next passengers are in French Guiana! 🚀
The 36 Amazon Leo satellites for the upcoming mission are now at Europe's Spaceport in Kourou.
Their arrival is just the beginning of a series of operations leading up to launch day.
From satellite checks and preparation to payload integration, each step requires careful coordination to ensure everything is ready for the journey to orbit.
Arianespace oversees these operations as the launch campaign progresses towards liftoff aboard Ariane 64, currently targeted for no earlier than November 23, depending on the final launch time.
📅 Stay tuned!
#LaunchingAmbitions
@AmazonLeo
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Arianespace retweeted
Did you know that Airbus is a key player in Europe’s space independence?
During this #WorldSpaceWeek, we are highlighting the technologies that connect us to space and improve our lives on Earth 🌍💫
One of our greatest achievements? Our contribution to the Ariane 6 launcher, that provides reliable and autonomous space transport solutions for Europe 🚀
Take a closer look at our expertise 🔎
@Arianespace @ArianeGroup
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When can we call a mission a success? 🚀
Liftoff may be the most spectacular moment, but it’s only the beginning.
For Arianespace, success means delivering a spacecraft where it needs to be, with the right trajectory and the right conditions for separation.
Once the spacecraft has safely separated from the launcher, it can begin the next part of its journey, whether that means reaching its operational orbit, deploying its systems or travelling towards a much more distant destination.
That’s where our launch mission ends, and our customer’s mission begins.
#LaunchingAmbitions
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🚀 Before a spacecraft can be launched, it first has to arrive at Europe’s Spaceport.
Travelling by sea or air in a specially designed transport container, the spacecraft is taken to the Payload Preparation Complex, where its launch campaign begins.
Inside a controlled clean-room environment, teams open the container and carry out a series of inspections to confirm that the spacecraft has arrived in the expected condition.
From there, Arianespace coordinates the different stages of the launch campaign through to liftoff.
#LaunchingAmbitions
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Inside a controlled clean-room environment, teams open the container and carry out a series of inspections to confirm that the spacecraft has arrived in the expected condition.
From there, Arianespace coordinates the different stages of the launch campaign through to liftoff.
#LaunchingAmbitions
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An escape trajectory gives a spacecraft the energy and direction it needs to leave the immediate vicinity of Earth and begin its journey towards a more distant destination.
This type of trajectory is used for scientific and exploration missions travelling deeper into space, whether towards another planet, a comet or beyond.
For Arianespace, reaching the right trajectory is only the beginning. After separation, the spacecraft continues independently towards its destination, using its own propulsion and, depending on the mission, gravity assists from planets along the way.
🚀 Destination orbit: escape trajectory.
#LaunchingAmbitions
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2 hours and 14 minutes with Ariane 5. 786 days exploring a comet. ☄️
Rosetta lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport aboard Ariane 5 on 2 March 2004, beginning a journey that would take it billions of kilometres across the Solar System.
After reaching comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014, Rosetta spent 786 days - almost 2 years and 2 months - alongside it, observing the comet up close and gathering an unprecedented wealth of scientific data.
Ten years ago, Rosetta’s extraordinary mission came to an end on the surface of the comet it had travelled so far to explore.
From just over two hours with Ariane 5 to more than two years studying 67P, one launch marked the beginning of an extraordinary scientific journey.
#LaunchingAmbitions
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Some journeys go much further than others. 🚀
Over nearly two decades, Ariane 5 launched some of the most ambitious scientific missions ever entrusted to Arianespace.
In 2004, Rosetta began its journey to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Five years later, Herschel and Planck set off for L2, around 1.5 million kilometres from Earth.
Then came BepiColombo, launched towards Mercury in 2018, followed by the James Webb Space Telescope in 2021, also heading for L2.
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And in 2023, JUICE became the last scientific mission launched by Ariane 5, beginning an eight-year journey to Jupiter and its icy moons.
From a comet to Mercury and the Jupiter system, these missions have taken science millions of kilometres from Earth, and are part of Arianespace’s long history of launching exploration beyond our planet.
#LaunchingAmbitions #Ariane5
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JUICE is back near Earth, three years after its launch on Ariane 5.
The ESA spacecraft lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in April 2023, beginning its journey towards Jupiter and its icy moons.
Its Earth flyby is part of a carefully planned series of gravity assists. By using the gravity of planets along its route, JUICE can adjust its trajectory and gain the energy needed for its journey without carrying the propellant that would otherwise be required.
The spacecraft will travel nearly 6 billion kilometres before reaching Jupiter in 2031.
#LaunchingAmbition
@esa @ArianeGroup @CNES @EuropeSpacePort
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🚀 33 years ago, Ariane 4 launched SPOT-3.
On 26 September 1993, an Ariane 40 lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport, placing the Earth observation satellite SPOT-3 into Sun-synchronous orbit.
SPOT-3 was part of the SPOT Earth observation programme, providing high-resolution imagery for applications including agriculture, environmental monitoring, cartography and disaster management.
The SPOT satellites could also point their imaging instruments away from the vertical, allowing the same area to be observed from different angles and enabling stereoscopic imagery and 3D terrain modelling.
Flight 59 was one of the Ariane 4 missions that supported the development of Europe’s Earth observation capabilities throughout the 1990s.
#LaunchingAmbitions
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The SPOT satellites could also point their imaging instruments away from the vertical, allowing the same area to be observed from different angles and enabling stereoscopic imagery and 3D terrain modelling.
Flight 59 was one of the Ariane 4 missions that supported the development of Europe’s Earth observation capabilities throughout the 1990s.
#LaunchingAmbitions
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One launcher. Many missions. 🚀
Satellites, constellations, spacecraft… Every mission comes with its own requirements, from payload configuration to target orbit.
Ariane 6 was designed to adapt to them, carrying different types of payloads for missions ranging from telecommunications and Earth observation to science and exploration.
No two missions are the same.
#Ariane6 #LaunchingAmbitions
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