The European launcher family is displayed in scale model form in the reception area of the Arianespace/Starsem Paris Air Show hospitality chalet. To the left is Vega, the newest launcher to be developed in Europe, which will enter operation in 2006 for missions with small satellite payloads. In the center is the medium-lift Soyuz, followed by the heavyweight Ariane 5.

Arianespace’s outdoor display at Le Bourget Airport is dominated by an Ariane 5 solid booster stage, which was used in an actual launch and recovered afterwards for inspection. This image provides a view from the stage’s aft end (in foreground) to the upper nose cone.

Looking through the igniter opening, this view gives an excellent idea of the Ariane 5 solid booster stage’s size. The booster has a diameter of 3.05 meters and burns for 135 sec. during launch.

The Vega launcher’s Zefiro solid propellant motor is displayed next to Ariane 5’s solid booster stage, giving a side-by-side comparison in size between Europe’s small launch vehicle and its biggest. Vega is a four-stage launcher composed of three solid stages and a bi-propellant upper stage.

The Soyuz launcher is represented in the outdoor display with a Fregat upper stage. This Russian-developed stage is an autonomous and flexible propulsion system that extends the Soyuz launcher’s capability by providing access to a full range of orbits. The stage uses UDMH/NTO storable propellants and can by restarted up to 20 times in flight, enabling it to carry out complex mission profiles. It's most recent use was on Starsem's June 2nd launch of the Mars Express interplanetary probe for the European Space Agency.