Ariane I is the first version of the Ariane launcher family.

Technical details

With lift-off mass of 210,000 kg, Ariane I was able to put in geostationary orbit one satellite or two smaller of a maximal weight of 1850 kg.

Ariane I is a three-stage rocket:

• The first stage was equipped with 4 Viking engine developed by the Société Européenne de Propulsion .
• The second had a single Viking engine.
• The third stage had one LOX/LH2 bipropellant engine capable of a thrust of 7,000 kg.

This design will be kept until Ariane 4.

Launch history

The first launch was on December 24, 1979, and was successful. The second exploded at takeoff. The third launch succeeded in orbiting three satellites, and the fourth and last qualification launch was also a success.

During the next launch, the first commercial one, the rocket ceased functioning after 7 minutes of flight. After a complete review of the launcher, the next 6 flights were all successful.

The Giotto mission's spaceprobe was successfully launched on the tenth Ariane 1 (flight V14) on July 2, 1985.

The first SPOT satellite was put into orbit by the eleventh and last launch of Ariane I, which was on February 22, 1986.