Ariane 5 ECA rocket to be launched today

Posted on Saturday, February 12 2005 @ 21:04 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck

Today the Ariane 5 ECA rocket will be launched from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. The launch window opens on the evening of 12 February at 16:49 (20:49 CET) and will extend until 18:10 (22:10 CET).

Ariane 5 ECA will be able to place heavy payloads of up to 10 tonnes into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) in comparison to the 6-tonne payloads placed into GTO by the Ariane 5 Generic launchers. The increased performance of the Ariane 5 ECA is due to two main differences:

a more powerful Vulcain-2 first stage engine developed from the Ariane 5 generic Vulcain 1 engine
a cryogenic upper stage (ESCA) using the tried and tested Ariane 4 HM7B engine that made over 130 successful launches

More info at ESA

About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.

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