ESA, has developed a series of Ariane launchers, the first of which took off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guyana in 1979. The current version, Ariane 5, can lift satellites weighing up to 10 tonnes into space.
ESA is currently developing Vega, a new launcher for small satellites. A special version of the Russian Soyuz vehicle will complete the range of different-sized launchers for different needs.