Latest Mission updates

Ariane 5 October 2, 2018

BepiColombo is readied for its October 19 Ariane 5 flight on a mission to Mercury

The two BepiColombo science orbiters are assembled during activity in the Spaceport’s S5 payload preparation facility, marking an integration milestone in preparation for Arianespace’s October 19 launch with an Ariane 5.

Preparations are moving ahead for Arianespace’s next Ariane 5 launch, which will send the BepiColombo spacecraft on its way to the solar system’s smallest and least-explored terrestrial planet: Mercury.

Scheduled for an October 19 liftoff from the Spaceport in French Guiana, this upcoming flight will continue Arianespace’s launch services for missions that help unlock mysteries of deep space.

BepiColombo is a joint mission of the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Its Mercury Composite Spacecraft (MCS) consists of two orbiters: the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO) and the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO); as well as two additional elements: the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM), and the Magnetospheric Orbiter Sunshield and Interface Structure (MOSIF). BepiColombo was built under the industrial leadership of Airbus, which heads a consortium of 83 companies from 16 countries.

After launch by Ariane 5, BepiColombo will arrive at Mercury in late 2025. During its one-year nominal mission (with a possible 1-year extension), the MPO and MMO will examine the peculiarities of Mercury’s internal structure and magnetic field generation, as well as how the planet interacts with the sun and solar wind. Goals of the mission also include investigating Mercury’s surface features and chemistry.

Designated Flight VA245 in Arianespace’s launcher family numbering system, the BepiColombo mission will be the company’s seventh in 2018, following heavy-lift Ariane 5 flights in September, July, April and January; as well as a light-lift Vega launch in August and a medium-lift Soyuz mission in March.

  • Larger versions of the photos above are available for downloading in the Gallery.

The European Space Agency website - BepiColombo: sci.esa.int/bepicolombo/

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) website: global.jaxa.jp/

Institute of Space and Astronautical Science website: www.isas.jaxa.jp/en/

Ariane 5 September 25, 2018

100 + 300 = Arianespace and Ariane 5’s history-making success

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