The Ariane-5 launcher is now in the qualification phase of its development programme. That phase mainly involves the testing of the various components of the launcher.
Testing is well underway.
Upon the successful completion of all tests, the launcher will be ground qualified and ready for two demonstration flights in 1995 and 1996 that will mark the end of the Ariane-5 development and the start of the operational life of the launcher. Introduction The development programme for the Ariane-5 launcher began in 1988 and since then, the configuration of the launcher has changed greatly in response to the evolution of system requirements. The main configuration para-meters are currently frozen. The critical design review has already taken place and the qualification phase is now underway. The launcher qualification can be divided into two parts.