Europe's Ariane 503 rocket was launched on October 20th,1998. The launch successfully completed the series of three test flights, thus qualifying the new launcher for commercial use. ESA's ARD [Atmospheric Re-entry Demonstrator] was one of its passengers.
This video, made for the Paris Airshow 1999, details the various stages of the ARD campaign - from arrival at Europe's spaceport in Kourou, to retrieval from the Pacific Ocean. Subtitles in French and English occur throughout.

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