The Atmospheric Reentry Demonstrator was an ESA technology mission demonstrating Earth-return technologies which was launched on the third Ariane-5 flight, (V112/503), on 21 October 1998. ARD was ESA’s first Earth-return craft and the first complete spaceflight cycle, from launch to landing, by Europe. It was a major step towards developing space transportation vehicles capable of returning to Earth, carrying payloads or people.

Born out of the ESRO LIIIS project to develop a competitive European satellite launcher, the name Ariane was adopted by delegates at ESRO’s AFC (Administrative and Finance Committee) in September 1973. The success of Ariane’s first launch, on 24 December 1979, paved the way to hundreds of further launches, and to obtaining a significant share of global commercial launch contracts.

Ariane-1 – 1979

Ariane-2/3 – 1984

Ariane-4 – 1988

Ariane-5 heavy-lift satellite launcher –first operational flight 1999

Ariane-6 - first flight in July 2024

Artemis – ESA’s Advanced Relay and Technology Mission Satellite – was the first European data relay mission and demonstrated new telecommunications techniques, primarily for data relay and mobile services. It was launched on 12 July 2001 on Ariane-510 from Kourou. Artemis created the first laser data link between satellites in different orbits and provided data relay for Envisat, the largest Earth observation satellite ever built.

ESA transferred ownership of the satellite to Avanti Communications (UK) in 2014. In November 2017, Artemis was retired and placed in a graveyard orbit.