The first of Europe's Ariane rockets, the Ariane 1 was a three-stage expendable launch vehicle built in Europe. It could put 1850 kg (4079 pounds) in geostationary orbit (35,786 km above mean sea level in the same plane as the equator).
The European Space Agency (ESA) oversaw the development of the Ariane 1 and its testing facilities. Arianespace, a commercial entity, handled production, operations and marketing.
There were eleven launches of the Ariane 1 —- between 1979 and 1986. Among the satellites launched by the Ariane 1 were:
- APPLE, India's first satellite
- The Giotto mission's spaceprobe, which came within 600 km of Halley's Comet
- The first SPOT satellite, a French Earth observation satellite
Note: The museum's Ariane 1 model has some panels open to reveal the engine. It wouldn't launch with those panels open.
Fun fact: "Ariane" is how the French spell Ariadne, a Greek fertility goddess of Crete (the largest of the Greek islands).
For more information:
- http://www.arianespace.com/site/index2.html
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariane_1
- http://tinyurl.com/ebysa
Author(s): Troy McLuhan (unknown date prior to 2007 December 31)
