ERS-1, Europe's first Earth remote-sensing satellite, carried radar and other instruments to monitor oceans, ice caps, and coastlines for ESA. It operated for nearly nine years, more than triple its planned lifetime, completing about 45,000 orbits.
- Outcome
- Success
- Orbit
- PO
- Polar orbit
- Payload to orbit
- 2.5 T
- Flight
- 2nd
- of 7 Ariane 40 flights
- Date and time
- 17 July 1991, 01:46 UTC
- Rocket
- Ariane 40
- Builder
- Aérospatiale
- Launch site
- Ariane Launch Area 2, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
- Payload
- Earth Science
- International designator
- 1991-050
- Launches in 1991
- 52nd of 91
See it in orbit
Space Atlas shows the satellites and rocket stages from this launch in 3D.
Object pages on Space Atlas: ERS-1
View satellites in Space Atlas