A spacecraft launched last year will slingshot back around Earth and the Moon next month in a high-stakes, world-first manoeuvre as it pinballs its way through the Solar System to Jupiter.
The Ariane V is one of the most powerful rockets ever built in terms of the capacity it can take to orbit. SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy and China’s Long March 5 can beat it, but neither has anything like the extensive service record of Ariane V nor had they flown at all when the probe was being designed. Plus of course, any space agency is always going to be more inclined to use domestic rockets that they’re already very familiar with
The Ariane V is one of the most powerful rockets ever built in terms of the capacity it can take to orbit. SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy and China’s Long March 5 can beat it, but neither has anything like the extensive service record of Ariane V nor had they flown at all when the probe was being designed. Plus of course, any space agency is always going to be more inclined to use domestic rockets that they’re already very familiar with