AeroVia Logo
AeroVia
Home
Resources
Courses
Community
About
Back to Missions

Ariane L01 Qualification Mission

L01 was the first flight of Europe's Ariane launcher. Its technological capsule, CAT-1, measured the launch trajectory and flight environment rather than serving as an operational satellite payload.

Ariane L01 Qualification Mission
ESA · Stored JPEG is byte-identical to ESA's exact asset titled Spectacular view of Ariane from top of launch platform, 1979. The ESA page credits the image to ESA and identifies it as an Ariane L01 photograph from December 1979: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2011/02/Spectacular_view_of_Ariane_from_top_of_launch_platform_1979. ESA's current standard terms permit images from the ESA website for educational, editorial, or informational purposes with ESA credit; commercial, advertising, merchandising, and other commercial uses require separate written authorization, and third-party rights or ESA branding restrictions may also apply: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Terms_and_conditions_of_use_of_images_and_videos_available_on_the_esa_website. This is an asset-level provenance and conservative reuse statement, not a blanket license. · Source
Follow this mission

Alerts are unavailable because this mission is no longer active.

Identity

Aliases
Ariane 1 maiden flightAriane L01CAT-1 flight
Name
Ariane L01 Qualification Mission
Status
completed

Details

Astronauts
-
Description
L01 was the first flight of Europe's Ariane launcher. Its technological capsule, CAT-1, measured the launch trajectory and flight environment rather than serving as an operational satellite payload.
End Date
1979-12-24
Launch Site
Outcome
The maiden Ariane 1 completed its planned flight and placed the CAT-1 technological capsule into the intended transfer orbit, beginning independent European launch operations.
Programs
Start Date
1979-12-24
Vehicle Families

Links

Official Url
https://www.esa.int/About_Us/50_years_of_ESA/History_Ariane_L01_1979

Assets & Meta

Creation Time
July 18, 2026 at 19:37:30 UTC
Updated Time
July 29, 2026 at 08:55:10 UTC
Image
Download

Other

Affiliations
Search Name
Ariane L01 Qualification Mission Ariane 1 maiden flight Ariane L01 CAT-1 flight
Space Stations
-
Vehicles