Ariane 3

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Comparison of the models Ariane 1 , Ariane 3 and Ariane 4

The Ariane 3 is the third model in the ESA series of Ariane rockets . It was developed by the CNES .

technology

The structure of the Ariane 3 is the same as that of the Ariane 2 , except for the two additional solid fuel boosters , which increases its take-off weight to 241 t. However, in order to protect the ELA-1 launch site used by most Ariane 3 rockets from damage, the boosters were only ignited after they had lifted off at a height of 11 m because the ELA-1 launch pad was only designed for rockets without boosters.

The payload that could be brought into a geostationary orbit by Ariane 3 was 2700 kg, 525 kg more than that of Ariane 2.

Starts

There were eleven Ariane 3 launches. The first took place successfully on August 4, 1984, remarkably before the first Ariane 2 launch. Only the fifth launch on September 12, 1985 failed.

Nine Ariane 3 rockets took off from the ELA-1 launch site and two Ariane 3s (like an Ariane 2) took off from a particularly high launch platform built for this purpose on the ELA-2 launch site built for the Ariane 4 , around it in front of the first To test the use of Ariane 4 and to increase the start rate.

All starts went into the geostationary transfer orbit . With the exception of the last launch, with the Olympus experimental satellite, two satellites were always launched together.

The low number of launches is due to the appearance of the more versatile and more powerful Ariane 4 in 1988.

This is a full list of all launches.

Start time ( UTC ) Flight number. payload Launch site Orbit¹ Remarks
Aug 4, 1984 13:32 V10 ECS-2 , Télécom 1A
( communications satellite ) 		ELA 1 GTO success
Sep 10 1984 01:14 V11 Spacenet 2, MARECS B2
(communication satellite and communication satellite for ships) 		ELA 1 GTO success
Feb 8, 1985 23:22 V12 Arabsat 1A , Brasilsat A1
(communication satellites) 		ELA 1 GTO success
May 8, 1985 1:15 AM V13 GStar 1 Télécom 1B
(communications satellite) 		ELA 1 GTO success
Sep 12 1985 23:26 V15 Spacenet 3 , ECS 3
(communication satellites) 		ELA 1 plunged into the Atlantic (planned: GTO) False start
failure of the third stage
March 28, 1986 11:30 PM V17 GStar 2, Brasilsat A2
(communication satellites) 		ELA 2 GTO Success ,
first launch of ELA-2
16 Sep 1987 00:45 V19 Aussat A3 , ECS 4
(communication satellites) 		ELA 1 GTO success
March 11, 1988 11:28 PM V21 Spacenet 3R , Télécom 1C
(communication satellites) 		ELA 1 GTO success
June 21, 1988 11:12 PM V24 Insat 1C , ECS 5
(communication satellites) 		ELA 1 GTO success
8 Sep 1988 23:00 V25 GStar 3 , SBS 5
(Commercial Communication Satellite ) 		ELA 2 GTO success
July 12, 1989 12:14 am V32 Olympus
(Experimental Communication Satellite) 		ELA 1 GTO success

¹ The payloads are shown as they were placed one above the other or (in rare cases) next to each other in the payload fairing. The top payload first, then the second from the top, etc.

² Not the target orbit of the payload, but the orbit on which the payload was deployed from the third stage.

literature

  • Martine Castello: La grande aventure d'Ariane. Larousse 1987, ISBN 2-03-518232-8
  • William Huon: Ariane, une épopée européenne. ETAI 2007, ISBN 978-2-7268-8709-7
  • Jean-Pierre Philippe: Ariane, horizon 2000. Taillandier, Paris 2000, ISBN 2-87636-045-4
  • Bernd Leitenberger: European launchers volume 1. From the diamond to the Ariane 4 - Europe's rocky road in the Orbit Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2009, ISBN 978-3-8370-9591-3

Web links

Commons : Ariane  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Launch log 1979–1989. Arianespace, accessed June 24, 2009 .
  2. ↑ Ariane 3 in the Encyclopedia Astronautica , accessed on June 24, 2009 (English).