Arianespace SA is a French company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider. It undertakes the operation and marketing of the Ariane programme. The company offers a number of different launch vehicles: the heavy-lift Ariane 6 for dual launches to geostationary transfer orbit, and the solid-fueled Vega series for lighter payloads.
Ariane 1 mock-up
Vega launcher on launch pad
Mockups of all the launch vehicles that Arianespace markets as of 2017: Vega, Vega-C, Soyuz, Ariane 5, and the future Ariane 6.
Ariane is a series of European civilian expendable launch vehicles for space launch use. The name comes from the French spelling of the mythological character Ariadne. France first proposed the Ariane project and it was officially agreed upon at the end of 1973 after discussions between France, Germany and the UK. The project was Western Europe's second attempt at developing its own launcher following the unsuccessful Europa project. The Ariane project was code-named L3S.
The first ever Ariane 4 launch from Kourou on June 14, 1988
Ariane 5 rocket at Le Bourget Air and Space Museum, Paris