On 24 December 1979 Ariane made its first flight from French Guyane marking the beginning of 30 years of success and giving Europe a guaranteed independant access to Space. With Ariane ESA could develop its own programmes in many different domains: Telecommunications, Earth Observation, Science and Exploration. With Ariane Europe was the pionneer in the civil launch space market, with the creation of Arianespace, which is now the world leading space transportation company. (less info)