Ariane Flight VA245 is the

Ariane 5 Ariane 5 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 geostationar ...

space launch of ''

BepiColombo BepiColombo is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to the planet Mercury. The mission comprises two satellites launched together: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and ''Mio'' ...

'' that took place on 20 October 2018 at 01:45:28

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

from the

Guiana Space Centre The Guiana Space Centre (; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport, is a spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas region of France in South America. Kourou is located approxim ...

. It was the launch of

(the in 2018), and the

Arianespace Arianespace SA is a French company founded in March 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider. It operates two launch vehicles: Vega C, a Small-lift launch vehicle, small-lift rocket, and Ariane 6, a Medium-lift launch vehicl ...

mission (the in 2018).

Payload

The payload of the launcher was the ''

spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle that is designed spaceflight, to fly and operate in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth observation, Weather s ...

. The total

payload Payload is the object or the entity that is being carried by an aircraft or launch vehicle. Sometimes payload also refers to the carrying capacity of an aircraft or launch vehicle, usually measured in terms of weight. Depending on the nature of t ...

mass was approximately , including the payload adapter.

BepiColombo

'' had a liftoff mass of approximately . It comprises 3 different elements that will remain attached together during launch and cruise to Mercury: the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM), the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO), and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (''Mio'' or MMO). The assembly was accommodated inside the long version of the upper stage fairing. ''BepiColombo'', a joint mission between

ESA The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 in the context of European ...

and

JAXA The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into o ...

, is Europe's first space mission to Mercury. The European modules ( MTM and MPO) were designed and manufactured by

Airbus Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...

at its

Friedrichshafen Friedrichshafen ( or ; Low Alemannic: ''Hafe'' or ''Fridrichshafe'') is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance (the ''Bodensee'') in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (''K ...

site in Germany as prime contractor for

, heading a consortium of 83 companies from 16 countries. The Japanese module ('' Mio'') was built by

ISAS , or ISAS, is a Japanese national research organization of astrophysics using rockets, astronomical satellites and interplanetary probes which played a major role in Japan's space development. Established as part of the University of Tokyo ...

for

. This flight was

's mission,

's mission and spacecraft launched by

, and the latter's deep space mission.

Mission overview

Launch date

The

launch of 2018 took place on 20 October 2018 at 01:45:28

(19 October 2018 22:45:28 local time) from Ariane Launch Complex No. 3 (ELA 3) in

Kourou Kourou (; ) is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America. Kourou is famous for being the location of the Guiana Space Centre, the main spaceport of France and the European Space Agency (ESA). It ...

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

Pre-flight activities

The different parts of the spacecraft arrived in

between April 24 and May 9. Deployment testing of ''BepiColombo'' MTM 2 solar arrays (which will generate up to 11.2 kW of power) were performed at the

in the SC5 facilities. The MMO was integrated on the MPO between August 20 and 21. They were both integrated on the MTM between September 19 and 20 to complete ''BepiColombo''. ''BepiColombo'' was assembled with its payload adapter on October 4, integrated on the launch vehicle on October 9, and enclosed within the fairing on October 11. The launch readiness review toko place on 17 October 2018 in

to authorise the start of the final operations.

Orbit

The launch lasted 26 minutes and 47 seconds until separation, placing ''BepiColombo'' into a Mercury transfer orbit, escaping the Earth with a hyperbolic escape velocity of about and at an inclination of about -3.8 degrees. It is expected to be captured by and start orbiting Mercury approximately on 5 December 2025, after a 7-year travel that will include several flybys of the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

, and Mercury itself.

References

External links

Presskit
for Ariane Flight VA245 by

{{Ariane VA245, Ariane flight 2018 in spaceflight October 2018 in South America 2018 in French Guiana Rocket launches in 2018