Installation of a Vulcain engine on the P5 test facility
Installation of a Vulcain engine on the P5 test facility
The Ariane 1 to 4 rockets flew with various Viking variants, but Ariane 5 required a new type of engine because the necessary thrust or specific impulse could not be achieved with the propellants used. The engineers therefore decided to use a cryogenic engine in the main stage, which uses liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as propellants.
