Launch Success

Liftoff Time (GMT)

01:44:00

Friday April 21, 1995

Mission Details

Launch Notes

First, and last flight of Ariane 40 with an H10+ stage. Flight V72.

ERS-2

Wiki

European remote sensing satellite (ERS) was the European Space Agency's first Earth-observing satellite programme using a polar orbit. The first satellite was launched on 17 July 1991 into a Sun-synchronous polar orbit at an altitude of 782–785 km. ERS-2 has been operating without gyroscopes since February 2001, resulting in some degradation of the data provided by the instruments. The tape drive aboard failed on 22 June 2003, leaving the instruments operating only within visibility of a ground station. Since the tape drive failure, additional ground stations have been brought online to increase the data-gathering abilities of the satellite. The Wind Scatterometer and GOME were the only instruments of their kind until the launches of MetOp-A and Envisat, respectively.

Sun-Synchronous Orbit

1 Payload

2,508 kilograms

Rocket

Retired
Ariane 40

Active 1990 to 1999

European Space Agency logo

Manufacturer

ESA

Rocket

Diameter: 3.8m

Height: 58.72m

Payload to Orbit

LEO: 5,000 kg

GTO: 2,000 kg

Liftoff Thrust

3,034 Kilonewtons

Stages

3

Launch Site

ELA-2

Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana, France

Fastest Turnaround

16 days

Stats

Ariane 4


44th

Mission

2nd

Mission of 1995

European Space Agency


63rd

Mission

2nd

Mission of 1995

1995


24th

Orbital launch attempt