Watch the Launch

Watch the Launch

Additional Media

Décollage d'Ariane 5 et BepiColombo

Le 19 octobre, Ariane 5 décolle du Centre spatial guyanais avec à son bord BepiColombo, une mission de l'ESA qui étudiera la planète Mercure. Placée par Ariane 5 sur une orbite lui permettant d'échapp...

国際水星探査計画BepiColombo/アリアン5型ロケット打上げライブ中継

日本時間10月20日(土)アリアン5型ロケットによる国際水星探査計画BepiColombo打上げの模様を中継します。 番組放送時間: 10:00~12:00(日本時間 ) 打上げ予定日時: 日本時間 10月20日(土) 10時45分28秒 〔フランス領ギアナ現地時間 10月19日(金) 22時45分28秒〕 打上げ場所:クールー宇宙基地(フランス領ギアナ) ※打上げ...

BepiColombo liftoff

BepiColombo lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on an Ariane 5 rocket at 01:45 GMT on 20 October 2018 Learn more about #BepiColombo: http://bit.ly/ESAsBepiColombo ★ Subscrib...

Flight VA245 | Ariane 5 Best of Liftoff | Arianespace

Arianespace has successfully launched the BepiColombo spacecraft on its mission to explore Mercury, the smallest and least known terrestrial planet in the Solar System. This launch, the seventh of th...

BepiColombo launch live by European Space Agency

Watch European Space Agency's BepiColombo launch live on Livestream.com. Watch live as the ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission to Mercury is launched on an Ariane 5 from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. BepiColombo is the first European mission to Mercury, the smallest and least explored plan...

BepiColombo

Overview

Destination: Heliocentric N/A
Mission: Planetary Science

Heliocentric N/A Ariane Launch Area 3 Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana #BepiColombo

BepiColombo is a joint mission of the ESA and the JAXA to the planet Mercury. The mission comprises two satellites to be launched together: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO). The mission will perform a comprehensive study of Mercury, including its magnetic field, magnetosphere, interior structure and surface.

Ariane 5 ECA

Family:
Configuration: ECA

Ariane 5 is a heavy-lift launch vehicle, part of the Ariane rocket family.

Specifications
  • Max Stage
    2
  • Length
    57.7 m
  • Diameter
    5.4 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    5.4 m
  • Launch Mass
    780.0 T
  • Thrust
    11400.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Ariane 5 ECA
  • Family
    ―
  • Variant
    ECA
  • Alias
    ―
  • Full Name
    Ariane 5 ECA
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    ―
  • Low Earth Orbit
    ―
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    10500.0 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
    ―
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    ―

ArianeGroup

ArianeGroup

(AG)

CEO: Christophe Bruneau Founded: 2015 Successes: 0 Failures: 0 Pending: 0

Agency Type:

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. It consists of three core arms: aerospace, defence and security.

INFO WIKI
ESA

Celebrating BepiColombo, three words at a time

BepiColombo launched on 20 October 2018. This year, the anniversary is special. After eight years of travelling through the inner Solar System, the ESA/JAXA mission will arrive at Mercury on 9 December, 2026. To celebrate, mission team mem…

ESA

Win a trip to ESA to witness BepiColombo arrive at Mercury

Get ready to celebrate BepiColombo’s arrival at Mercury. Craft a welcoming message that could be a drawing, song, poem or any other art form and stand a chance to win a trip to mission control!

ESA

MTM's selfie footage of BepiColombo's eight-year journey

Witness how over the last eight years, the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission has been travelling through the inner Solar System and aligning itself with Mercury's orbit. So far, it has travelled 9.9 billion km and completed nine 'planetary flyb…

ESA

BepiColombo begins Mercury arrival with MTM separation success

On 3 September 2026 at 15:49 CEST, the European Space Agency's BepiColombo Mission Control Team at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) received the signal they had been waiting for – BepiColombo’s Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) succ…

ESA

BepiColombo’s Mercury arrival begins - full replay

Watch the replay of the livestream originally broadcast on 3 September as ESA/JAXA's BepiColombo mission took the first critical step towards arriving at Mercury.

Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Ariane Launch Area 3


Long March 2C
Success
14 hours, 36 minutes ago
Yaogan 51-07 to 09
Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

3 Chinese military “remote sensing” satellite of unknown purposes.


Kinetica 2
Success
3 days, 6 hours ago
SpaceSail Polar Group #17
Launch Area 140 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

18 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with…


Electron
Success
3 days, 13 hours ago
The Sea God Surveys (iQPS Launch 9)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company iQPS.


Falcon 9
Success
6 days, 2 hours ago
Starlink Group 15-18
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


GSLV Mk II
Success
6 days, 12 hours ago
IRNSS-1L (NVS-03)
Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India

This is a replacement satellite for the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. The constellation will provide India with an alternative to GPS …


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
Starlink Group 15-16
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 8A
Success
1 week, 5 days ago
SatNet LEO Group 28
Commercial LC-1 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 6 days ago
Starlink Group 15-15
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 4B
Success
1 week, 6 days ago
Yaogan 53-07 to 09/56-19 to 21
Launch Area 94 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

6 Chinese military “remote sensing” satellite of unknown purposes.


Long March 6A
Success
1 week, 6 days ago
Yaogan 50-03
Launch Complex 9A - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

The Yaogan 50-03 is a Chinese military “remote sensing” satellite of unknown purposes.