Image: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique vidéo du CSG
Ariane 5 ECA | BepiColombo
Arianespace · Ariane 5 ECA · Ariane Launch Area 3, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
Arianespace's 269th launch · 7th this year · humanity's 5,787th orbital launch attempt
The launch vehicle successfully inserted its payload(s) into the target orbit(s).
Window: Oct 20, 01:45 – Oct 20, 01:45 UTC
Flight preview
BepiColombo
BepiColombo is a joint mission of the ESA and the JAXA to the planet Mercury. The mission comprises two satellites to be launched together: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO). The mission will perform a comprehensive study of Mercury, including its magnetic field, magnetosphere, interior structure and surface.
Planetary Science · Heliocentric N/A (Helio-N/A)
Booster
No booster details available.
Watch
- Flight VA245 – BepiColombo | Ariane 5 Launch | Arianespace — arianespace
- Décollage d'Ariane 5 et BepiColombo — Centre spatial guyanais
- 国際水星探査計画BepiColombo/アリアン５型ロケット打上げライブ中継 — JAXA | 宇宙航空研究開発機構
- BepiColombo liftoff — European Space Agency, ESA
- Flight VA245 | Ariane 5 Best of Liftoff | Arianespace — arianespace
- BepiColombo launch live by European Space Agency — Livestream
News
Training while flying: Inside BepiColombo's arrival simulations
From the ESA Blogs.
End of the blue glow: BepiColombo turns off solar electric propulsion for Mercury arrival
At 15:24 CEST on 15 June 2026, a faint blue glow in space was switched off for the last time. After powering BepiColombo's eight-year journey across the inner Solar System, the spacecraft's solar electric propulsion (SEP) system completed its final thrust arc, marking the end of BepiColombo’s long cruise phase and the beginning of its arrival at Mercury.
