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Ariane 4

A large white rocket with three boosters stands on a launch pad against a dark background, showcasing the Ariane 4, a significant European space launcher from the 1980s and 1990s.

The workhorse European launcher of the 1980s and 1990s, derived from the earlier Ariane family and first flown in 1988. It carried roughly half the world's commercial satellites at its peak. Smaller and slower than Ariane 5, it followed a gentler initial trajectory, which is why the inertial reference code inherited by its successor never overflowed in service.

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