The final flight of Europe's workhorse rocket marks the end of an era

Witness the final launch campaign of the Ariane 5 rocket. This timelapse captures the preparation for the 117th and concluding mission in a series that defined European space flight for nearly three decades.

Beginning in 1996, the Ariane 5 rocket served as a cornerstone for European space operations, carrying a diverse range of commercial, institutional, and scientific payloads. Its legacy includes iconic missions such as the Rosetta comet probe, the James Webb Space Telescope, and the Juice mission to Jupiter's moons.

The program concluded on 5 July 2023 with the VA261 mission. This final flight carried the Heinrich Hertz experimental communications satellite for the German aerospace agency DLR, alongside the French Syracuse 4b communications satellite, bringing the total number of Ariane 5 launches to 117.

Source: Final Ariane 5 liftoff | Launch preparation timelapse