Space Launch Vehicle Ariane 5 Takes Its Final Flight; Europe Is Left To Rely on US for Space Missions

On July 4, 2023, the last Ariane 5 space launch vehicle was launched from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. As the rocket vanishes from sight, Europe is left without its heavy-lift rocket for the first time after many decades.

Failures in Europe's Ariane 5

For almost 30 years, Ariane 5 has served as the workhorse of European orbital delivery, although it faced some issues at first. During its first launch on June 4, 1996, the test had to be destroyed after it veered off course due to faulty software. Since then, the rocket has been known to attain a more than 95% success rate.

From a total of 116 launches, the vehicle has had 111 successful flights. When the James Webb Space Telescope was launched on December 25, 2021, Ariane 5 was chosen to deliver the instrument a million miles away from the Earth.

Although the Ariane 5 is reliable, it is expensive to launch and slow to set up. In addition, the rocket can only be used once, compared to SpaceX, which has lifted more than 180 Falcon 9 vehicles since 2018. In most cases, the Ariane 5 has also retrieved and reused the first phase of the booster, which makes up around 70% of its total cost.

For a while, it needs to avail the launching services from US-based SpaceX since the first Ariane 6 rocket is not expected to complete its creation before the end of the year. It has been developed since 2014 and is likely to be delayed further amidst the ongoing basic engine tests.

Josef Aschbacher, director general of the European Space Agency, warns that Europe is currently in an acute launcher crisis brought on by the temporary gap in its access to space and the unavailability of its rocket.

Aschbacher further described that SpaceX continues to revolutionize the launcher market paradigm, as observed by the dependable reliability of Falcon 9 and the attractive prospects of Starship. As the US pushes the boundaries in space flights through companies such as SpaceX, Europe seems to be left behind as its expected rockets are still grounded.

Ariane 5 was developed by spacecraft engineering company ArianeGroup based in France. Last June, the rocket was grounded for over two weeks due to problems with its pyrotechnic systems. These systems are needed to jettison the solid rocket boosters of the launcher.

How Reliable is Ariane 6 Vehicle?

The upcoming Ariane 6 heavy rocket is still not ready after being in the developmental stage for almost a decade. However, Aschbacher suggested that it needs to be a reliable workhouse in Europe for the years to come.

Ariane 6 currently has 25 planned payloads, but there is still a long way to go before it becomes a trusted platform like its predecessor. The new rocket designs are susceptible to errors, so its first few launches must be monitored closely.

As a single-use vehicle, one of the duties of Ariane 6 is to provide supplies for the International Space Station (ISS). It can lift an impressive load, but relying on reusable rockets comes at a cost. Meanwhile, SpaceX's Starship continues to set the bar in providing launching services, outclassing the other commercial rockets on Earth.

ArianeSpace developed a reusable spacecraft called Smart Upper Stage for Innovative Exploration (Susie) to address the issues of reusability. As it sits atop the Ariane 6, Susie is expected to play a significant role in providing services to the ISS. However, many developments still need to be done for the spacecraft's basic design.