NEXT SPACEFLIGHT

Ariane 3

Development of the Ariane 3 was authorized in July 1979, months prior to the Ariane 1's first flight. Drawing heavily upon both the design and infrastructure of the Ariane 1, the new launcher was concurrently developed alongside the Ariane 2, with which it shared much of its design. It represented an advancement of the Ariane 1 rather than a replacement but was capable of lifting even heavier payloads into Geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) as well as launching two satellites via one launch. Developed largely within a two-year window, the Ariane 3 performed its maiden flight on 4 August 1984, actually flying in advance of its Ariane 2 sibling. During its brief service life, having performed its final launch on 12 July 1989, the Ariane family had become increasingly commercially competitive, becoming the market-leading heavy launch vehicle in the world by the late 1980s.

Missions: 11
Successes: 10
Partial Failures: 0
Failures: 1
Success Streak: 6
Success Rate: 90.9%
Wiki

Configurations

Ariane 3
Image Credit: Arianespace
ESA
Status: Retired
Liftoff Thrust: 5,100 kN
Payload to GTO: 2,700 kg
Stages: 3
Strap-ons: 2
Rocket Height: 49.0 m

Launch Sites

ELA-1, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana, France
ELA-2, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana, France

Launches

Arianespace
Ariane 3 | Olympus 1
Wed Jul 12, 1989 00:14 UTC
ELA-1, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana, France
Arianespace
Ariane 3 | GStar 5, SBS 5
Thu Sep 08, 1988 23:00 UTC
ELA-2, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana, France
Arianespace
Ariane 3 | INSAT-1C, Eutelsat-1 F5
Thu Jul 21, 1988 23:12 UTC
ELA-1, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana, France
Arianespace
Ariane 3 | Spacenet 3R, Télécom 1C
Fri Mar 11, 1988 23:28 UTC
ELA-1, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana, France
Arianespace
Ariane 3 | Aussat-A3, Eutelsat 1-F4
Wed Sep 16, 1987 00:45 UTC
ELA-1, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana, France
Arianespace
Ariane 3 | GStar-2, Brasilsat-A2
Fri Mar 28, 1986 23:30 UTC
ELA-2, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana, France
Arianespace
Ariane 3 | ECS 3, Spacenet 3
Thu Sep 12, 1985 23:26 UTC
ELA-1, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana, France
Arianespace
Ariane 3 | GStar-1, Télécom 1B
Wed May 08, 1985 01:15 UTC
ELA-1, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana, France
Arianespace
Ariane 3 | Arabsat-1A, Brasilsat-A1
Fri Feb 08, 1985 23:22 UTC
ELA-1, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana, France
Arianespace
Ariane 3 | Spacenet 2, MARECS-2
Sat Nov 10, 1984 01:14 UTC
ELA-1, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana, France
Arianespace
Ariane 3 | Eutelsat-1 F2, Télécom 1A
Sat Aug 04, 1984 13:32 UTC
ELA-1, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana, France