Ariane flight VA261 was anAriane 5 rocket flight that launched theHeinrich Hertz andSyracuse-4B for customersDLR andDGA into space on 5 July 2023. It was the 117th and last Ariane 5 rocket launch.[1]
In May 2023, the core stage for the last Ariane 5 launch arrived atKourou,French Guiana for LVOS and then the two SRB's and the upper cryogenic stage was integrated shortly after.[2][3] After completing all integration work the launch date was set for 15 June but due to a problem in the booster separation system, the launch was delayed.[4][5][6][7] The next launch date was announced for 4 July. On 3 July the rocket was rolled out to the pad.[8][9] However, the launch was postponed by one day due to weather.[10]
The rocket was launched from theELA-3 launch pad of theGuiana Space Centre on 05 July 2023 at 22:00UTC.[11] The launch was called perfect after delivering the payloads to desired orbit.[12][13][14]
After the launch there were concerns on the availability of European launch vehicles as the newVega-C rocket has suffered a launch failure on its recentVV22 launch while carrying Pléiades Neo 5 & 6 forAirbus Defence and Space, theAriane 6 rocket was delayed for first flight, and only twoVega flights remained in the manifest.[15]
Heinrich Hertz
Syracuse-4B
