The ‘object’ for this month bridges the gap between 1981 and 1982 and acts as a preview of space-related events that took place in 1982, many of which will soon be visible in the SHIP database when we open photos for 1982 later this month!
It deals with the conclusion of the first chapter of the Ariane story and the test flight programme, consisting of four flights which took place over the two-year period from December 1979 until December 1981. The successful outcome of the last of these, flight L04 on 20 December 1981, which placed the Marecs A European maritime communications satellite in orbit, qualified the Ariane launcher. (Full marks if you spotted the discrepancy in the launch date – on 19 December according to local time in Kourou, but at 01.29 on 20 December UTC.)
The document takes the form of a resolution adopted on 25 January at a meeting of the Ariane Launcher Programme Board, whereby representatives of the ten European states participating at that time in the Ariane programme unanimously declared the launcher qualified and thus operational.
An ESA press release issued a few days later, on 27 January, explains the significance and the next steps: “The qualification of the launcher brings to a close the development phase of the Ariane launcher programme... It firmly establishes Europe’s independent launch capability and opens up the Ariane operational phase.” The first four operational launches, known as the promotion series, were carried out under the auspices of ESA, after which responsibility was handed over to Arianespace, set up in 1980 as the world’s first commercial launch service provider.
