Ariane 5 (French: [aʁjan sɛ̃k]) is a retired European heavy-lift space launch vehicle operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was launched from the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in French Guiana. It was used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), low Earth orbit (LEO) or further into space. The launch vehicle had a streak of 82 consecutive successful launc Ariane 5's cryogenic H173 main stage (H158 for Ariane 5G, G+, and GS) was called the EPC (Étage Principal Cryotechnique — Cryotechnic Main Stage). It consisted of a 5.4 m (18 ft) diameter by 30.5 m (100 ft) high tank with two compartments, one for liquid oxygen and one for liquid hydrogen, and a Vulcain 2 (Vulcain 1 for Ariane 5G, G+, and GS) engine at the base with a vacuum thrust of 1,390 kN (310,000 lbf). The H173 EPC weighed about 189 t (417,000 lb), including 175 t (386,000 lb) of propellant. After the main cryogenic stage runs out of fuel, it re-entered the atmosphere for an ocean splashdown. The second stage was on top of the main stage and below the payload. The original Ariane — Ariane 5G — used the EPS (Étage à Propergols Stockables — Storable Propellant Stage), which was fueled by monomethylhydrazine (MMH) and nitrogen tetroxide, containing 10,000 kg (22,000 lb) of storable propellant. The EPS was subsequently improved for use on the Ariane 5G+, GS, and ES. The EPS upper stage was capable of repeated ignition, first demonstrated during flight V26 which was launched on 5 October 2007. This was purely to test the engine, and occurred after the payloads had been deployed. The first operational use of restart capability as part of a mission came on 9 March 2008, when two burns were made to deploy the first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) into a circular parking orbit, followed by a third burn after ATV deployment to de-orbit the stage. This procedure was repeated for all subsequent ATV flights. Ariane 5ECA used the ESC (Étage Supérieur Cryotechnique — Cryogenic U It consisted of a 5.4 m (18 ft) diameter by 30.5 m (100 ft) high tank with two compartments, one for liquid oxygen and one for liquid hydrogen, and a Vulcain 2 (Vulcain 1 for Ariane 5G, G+, and GS) engine at the base with a vacuum thrust of 1,390 kN (310,000 lbf). The H173 EPC weighed about 189 t (417,000 lb), including 175 t (386,000 lb) of propellant. After the main cryogenic stage runs out of fuel, it re-entered the atmosphere for an ocean splashdown. === Solid boosters === Attached to the sides were two P241 (P238 for Ariane 5G and G+) solid rocket boosters (SRBs or EAPs from the French Étages d'Accélération à Poudre — lit. 'Powder Acceleration Stages'), each weighing about 277 t (611,000 lb) full and delivering a thrust of about 7,080 kN (1,590,000 lbf). They were fueled by a mix of ammonium perchlorate (68%) and aluminium fuel (18%) and HTPB (14%). They each burned for 130 seconds before being dropped into the ocean. The SRBs were usually allowed to sink to the bottom of the ocean, but, like the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters, they could be recovered with parachutes, and this was occasionally done for post-flight analysis. Unlike Space Shuttle SRBs, Ariane 5 boosters were not reused. The most recent attempt was for the first Ariane 5 ECA mission in 2009. One of the two boosters was successfully recovered and returned to the Guiana Space Center for analysis. Prior to that mission, the last such recovery and testing was done in 2003. The French M51 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) shared a substantial amount of technology with these boosters. In February 2000, the suspected nose cone of an Ariane 5 booster washed ashore on the South Texas coast, and was recovered by beachcombers before the government could get to it. === Second stage === The second stage was on top of the main stage and below the payload. The original Ariane — Ariane 5G — used the EPS (Étage à Propergols Stockables — Storable Propellant Stage), which was fueled by monomethylhydrazine (MMH) and nitrogen tetroxide, containing 10,000 kg (22,000 lb) of storable propellant. The EPS was subsequently improved for use on the Ariane 5G+, GS, and ES. The EPS upper stage was capable of repeated ignition, first demonstrated during flight V26 which was launched on 5 October 2007. This was purely to test the engine, and occurred after the payloads had been deployed. The first operational use of restart capability as part of a mission came on 9 March 2008, when two burns were made to deploy the first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) into a circular parking orbit, followed by a third burn after ATV deployment to de-orbit the stage. This procedure was repeated for all subsequent ATV flights. Ariane 5ECA used the ESC (Étage Supérieur Cryotechnique — Cryogenic Upper Stage), which was fueled by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The ESC used the HM7B engine previously used in the Ariane 4 third stage. The propellent load of 14.7 tonne allowed the engine to burn for 945 seconds while providing 6.5 tonne of thrust. Unlike the HM-7B engine, it was to be able to restart several times, allowing for complex orbital maneuvers such as insertion of two satellites into different orbits, direct insertion into geosynchronous orbit, planetary exploration missions, and guaranteed upper stage deorbiting or insertion into graveyard orbit. The launcher was also to include a lengthened fairing up to 20 m (66 ft) and a The software, written in Ada, was included in the Ariane 5 through the reuse of an entire Ariane 4 subsystem despite the fact that the particular software containing the bug, which was just a part of the subsystem, was not required by the Ariane 5 because it has a different preparation sequence than the Ariane 4. The second test flight (L502, on 30 October 1997) was a partial failure. The Vulcain nozzle caused a roll problem, leading to premature shutdown of the core stage. The upper stage operated successfully, but it could not reach the intended orbit.