Ariane 44L, V154 campaign

An Ariane 44L, with four liquid strap-on boosters, lifts off from the Launch Zone of the Ariane Launch Complex no.2 (ELA-2) at the Guiana Space Centre, Europe's space port, on September 5, 2002. The payload for this launch (V154) was Intelsat 906, an international communication satellite. The Ariane 44L was the most powerful and most widely used version of the Ariane 4 series. Its initial payload capacity of 4,200 kg to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) was eventually increased to 4,950 kg through a series of upgrades. The Ariane 4 program was decided by ESA in 1982 to develop a modular family of launch vehicles based on the initial Ariane 1 to 3 designs in order to ensure continuity of Europe's guaranteed access to space. The development program was delegated to CNES, the French space agency. The maiden Ariane 4 was successfully flown on June 15, 1988. On behalf of ESA, Arianespace was in charge of industrial production, launch operations and marketing of Ariane 4. The 116th and last Ariane 4 was launched on February 15, 2003. The Ariane 4 was developed from the Ariane 2/3 design with a stretched first stage and a larger payload fairing. Ariane 4 could be declined in six versions with the adjunction of either two or four solid or liquid strap-on boosters, or a mix of two of each type.