April 6, 2026
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Breaking News
  • [ April 5, 2026 ] Artemis astronauts send down Easter message, prep for lunar fly around Monday Artemis
  • [ April 3, 2026 ] ULA’s Atlas 5 rocket launches its heaviest payload ever with fifth Amazon Leo mission Atlas 5
  • [ April 2, 2026 ] Artemis 2 crew blasts off on historic moon mission Artemis
  • [ April 1, 2026 ] Live coverage: NASA to launch Artemis 2, its first Moon-bound mission with astronauts since 1972 Artemis
  • [ March 30, 2026 ] Falcon 9 booster launches for record 34th time on Starlink delivery mission Falcon 9

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Ariane 5

Launches resume in French Guiana with dual-payload Ariane 5 flight

May 4, 2017 Stephen Clark

Running more than six weeks late after social unrest in French Guiana forced the closure of Europe’s launch base there, a commercial Ariane 5 rocket took off Thursday just after sunset with a pair of communications satellites manufactured in France for owners in Brazil and South Korea.

Ariane 5

Photos: Ariane 5 launcher on the eve of liftoff

May 4, 2017 Stephen Clark

A European Ariane 5 rocket sat poised for liftoff on a tropical launch pad Thursday nestled in the edge of the Amazon rainforest of South America.

Ariane 5

Live coverage: Ariane 5 blasts off after short delay

May 4, 2017 Stephen Clark

An Ariane 5 rocket launched from French Guiana at 2150 GMT (5:50 p.m. EDT) Thursday with a pair of European-built communications satellites for the Brazilian government and KTsat, a South Korean telecom operator. Liftoff was delayed more than one hour to resolve a problem with ground equipment.

Ariane 5

Timeline for Ariane 5’s launch of SGDC and Koreasat 7

May 3, 2017 Stephen Clark

Two European-made communications satellites destined to serve the Brazilian government and commercial customers across Asia are set to ride an Ariane 5 rocket into orbit Thursday.

Ariane 5

Ariane 5 rocket rolled to launch pad with satellites for Brazil, South Korea

May 3, 2017 Stephen Clark

A month-and-a-half after a general strike in French Guiana halted launch preparations, an Ariane 5 rocket arrived at its launch pad Wednesday on the northeastern coast of South America, a day before hauling two communications satellites into orbit for the Brazilian government and a South Korean company.

News

Operations resume at European-run launch base in French Guiana

April 25, 2017 Stephen Clark

Ground crews returned to work Monday at the Guiana Space Center, a European-run spaceport on the northeastern shore of South America, after protests and a general strike across French Guiana interrupted launch operations for five weeks.

Ariane 5

Launches from Kourou temporarily suspended by social unrest

March 23, 2017 Stephen Clark

The launch an Ariane 5 rocket with Brazilian and Korean communications satellites that was set for this week has been postponed indefinitely after protesters blocked access to the French Guiana spaceport.

Ariane 5

Ariane 5 launch pushed back to Wednesday by labor strikes in Kourou

March 20, 2017 Stephen Clark

A work stoppage at the Ariane 5 rocket’s launch base in South America prevented rollout of the booster to the launch pad Monday, pushing back the liftoff of two communications satellites for Brazil and South Korea until at least Wednesday.

News Headlines

  • Artemis astronauts send down Easter message, prep for lunar fly around Monday
    April 5, 2026
  • ULA’s Atlas 5 rocket launches its heaviest payload ever with fifth Amazon Leo mission
    April 3, 2026
  • Artemis 2 crew blasts off on historic moon mission
    April 2, 2026
  • Live coverage: NASA to launch Artemis 2, its first Moon-bound mission with astronauts since 1972
    April 1, 2026
  • Falcon 9 booster launches for record 34th time on Starlink delivery mission
    March 30, 2026
  • SpaceX launches 119 payloads on smallsat rideshare mission from California
    March 30, 2026
  • SpaceX launches batch of Starlink satellites from the West Coast
    March 26, 2026
  • NASA outlines ambitious $20 billion plan for moon base
    March 25, 2026
  • SpaceX launches 29 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral
    March 22, 2026
  • SpaceX launches 25 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB
    March 20, 2026
  • Home
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