Ariane 1

Ariane 1 was the first rocket of the Ariane family of expendable launch systems, developed for and operated by the European Space Agency, with development starting in 1973. Aérospatiale was the prime contractor and integrated all sections of the vehicle at its Les Mureaux plant, with engines from the Société Européenne de Propulsion. It was the first launcher designed mainly to put commercial satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbit, and it could carry a pair of satellites in one launch. A three-stage vehicle with a lift-off mass of 210,000 kg, it lifted at most 1,850 kg to transfer orbit. Its first launch came on 24 December 1979 from Kourou, and the eleventh and last Ariane 1 flight took place in February 1986, as Ariane 2 and Ariane 3 took over.