Ariane 5 in the context of "PARASOL"

Ariane 6 is a European expendable launch system developed for the European Space Agency (ESA) and French Space Agency (CNES) and manufactured by a consortium of European companies, led by the prime contractor ArianeGroup. As part of the Ariane rocket family, it is operated by Arianespace, replacing the Ariane 5. The project's primary contributors were France (55.3%), Germany (21%) and Italy (7.6%), with the remaining work distributed among ten other participating countries.

This two-stage rocket utilizes liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen (hydrolox) engines. The first stage features an upgraded Vulcain engine from Ariane 5, while the second uses the Vinci engine, designed specifically for this rocket. The Ariane 62 variant uses two P120C solid rocket boosters, while Ariane 64 uses four. The P120C booster is shared with Europe's other launch vehicle, and is an improved version of the P80 used on the original Vega.

XMM-Newton, also known as the High Throughput X-ray Spectroscopy Mission and the X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission, is an X-ray space observatory launched by the European Space Agency in December 1999 on an Ariane 5 rocket. It is the second cornerstone mission of ESA's Horizon 2000 programme. Named after physicist and astronomer Sir Isaac Newton, the spacecraft is tasked with investigating interstellar X-ray sources, performing narrow- and broad-range spectroscopy, and performing the first simultaneous imaging of objects in both X-ray and optical (visible and ultraviolet) wavelengths.

Initially funded for two years, with a ten-year design life, the spacecraft remains in good health and has received repeated mission extensions, most recently in March 2023 and is scheduled to operate until the end of 2026. ESA plans to succeed XMM-Newton with the Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics (ATHENA), the second large mission in the Cosmic Vision 2015–2025 plan, to be launched in 2035. XMM-Newton is similar to NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, also launched in 1999.

The Herschel Space Observatory was a space observatory built and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA). It was active from 2009 to 2013, and was the largest infrared telescope ever launched until the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope in 2021. Herschel carries a 3.5-metre (11.5 ft) mirror and instruments sensitive to the far infrared and submillimetre wavebands (55–672 μm). Herschel was the fourth and final cornerstone mission in the Horizon 2000 programme, following SOHO, Cluster II, XMM-Newton and Rosetta.

The observatory was carried into orbit by an Ariane 5 in May 2009, reaching the second Lagrangian point (L2) of the Earth–Sun system, 1,500,000 kilometres (930,000 mi) from Earth, about two months later. Herschel is named after Sir William Herschel, the discoverer of the infrared spectrum and planet Uranus, and his sister and collaborator Caroline Herschel.

The Automated Transfer Vehicle, originally Ariane Transfer Vehicle or ATV, was an expendable cargo spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), used for space cargo transport in 2008–2015. The ATV design was launched to orbit five times, exclusively by the Ariane 5 heavy-lift launch vehicle. It effectively was a larger European counterpart to the Russian Progress cargo spacecraft for carrying upmass to a single destination—the International Space Station (ISS)—but with three times the capacity.

ArianeGroup (formerly Airbus Safran Launchers) is an aerospace company based in France. A joint venture between Airbus and Safran, the company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris. It consists of three core groups: aerospace, defence, and security. ArianeGroup has developed its next-generation two-stage Ariane 6 launch vehicle, which succeeded the Ariane 5 rocket, that had more than 110 launches. The new vehicle offers two variants that will be capable of carrying between 10,350 and 21,650 kilograms. The first launch of Ariane 6 occurred on 9 July 2024.

If the company's task is to develop and manufacture the launch vehicles, Arianespace acts as the launch service provider for them. Meanwhile, another subsidiary, ArianeWorks, is tasked with developing next-generation technologies such as the reusable Themis rocket booster. ArianeGroup also notably manufactures France's M51 nuclear submarine-launched ballistic missile.

Vulcain is a family of European first stage rocket engines for Ariane 5 and Ariane 6. Its development began in 1988 and the first flight was completed in 1996. The updated version of the engine, Vulcain 2, was first successfully flown in 2005. Both members of the family use liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen cryogenic fuel. The new version for Ariane 6 is called Vulcain 2.1.

Ariane 1 (French: [aʁjan œ̃]) was the first rocket in the Ariane family of expendable launch systems. It was developed for and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), which had been formed in 1973, the same year that development of the launcher had commenced. Aérospatiale was designated to lead the programme. Ariane 1 was the first launcher to be developed with the primary purpose of sending commercial satellites into geosynchronous orbit. Crucially, it was designed with the ability of sending a pair of satellites into orbit on a single launcher, thus reducing costs.

As the size of satellites grew, Ariane 1 quickly gave way to the more powerful Ariane 2 and Ariane 3 launchers, which were heavily based upon the original rocket. The Ariane 4 was the last rocket to heavily draw upon the Ariane 1, as the successor rocket Ariane 5 uses a far greater proportion of all-new elements.

Safran Aircraft Engines, previously Snecma (Société nationale d'études et de construction de moteurs d'aviation) or Snecma Moteurs, is a French aerospace engine manufacturer headquartered in Courcouronnes and a subsidiary of Safran. It designs, manufactures and maintains engines for commercial and military aircraft as well as rocket engines for launch vehicles and satellites.

Some of its notable developments, alone or in partnership, include the Dassault Rafale's M88 engine, the Concorde's Olympus 593, the CFM56 and CFM-LEAP for single-aisle airliners, as well as the Ariane 5's Vulcain engine.