Ariel was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 satellite

Satellite

In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....

 research programme conducted between the early 1960s and 1980s. Six satellite

Satellite

In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....

s were launched as part of the programme, starting with the first British satellite, Ariel 1

Ariel 1

Ariel 1, also known as UK-1 and S-55, was the first British satellite, and the first satellite in the Ariel programme. Its launch in 1962 made the United Kingdom the third country to operate a satellite, after the Soviet Union and the USA...

, which was launched on 26 April 1962, and concluding with the launch of Ariel 6

Ariel 6

Ariel 6, also known as Ariel VI and UK-6, was a British satellite launched in 1979 as part of the Ariel programme. It was operated by the Science Research Council, which became the Science and Engineering Research Council in 1981. Ariel 6 was used for astronomical research, and operated until...

 on 2 June 1979. The first four were devoted to studying the ionosphere, the remaining two to X-ray astronomy and cosmic-ray studies.

The programme was conducted by the Science Research Council. The first two spacecraft were constructed by the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

, with subsequent spacecraft being produced in Britain. All launches were conducted using American rockets; Ariel 1 on a Thor-Delta

Thor-Delta

The Thor-Delta, also known as Delta DM-19 or just Delta was an early American expendable launch system used for 12 orbital launches in the early 1960s. A derivative of the Thor-Able, it was a member of the Thor family of rockets, and the first member of the Delta family.The first stage was a Thor...

, and the remainder on Scouts.

Satellites

Satellite	Launch date	Carrier rocket	Launch site	COSPAR ID	Comments
Ariel 1 Ariel 1 Ariel 1, also known as UK-1 and S-55, was the first British satellite, and the first satellite in the Ariel programme. Its launch in 1962 made the United Kingdom the third country to operate a satellite, after the Soviet Union and the USA...	1962-04-26	Thor-Delta Thor-Delta The Thor-Delta, also known as Delta DM-19 or just Delta was an early American expendable launch system used for 12 orbital launches in the early 1960s. A derivative of the Thor-Able, it was a member of the Thor family of rockets, and the first member of the Delta family.The first stage was a Thor...	Cape Canaveral Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is an installation of the United States Air Force Space Command's 45th Space Wing, headquartered at nearby Patrick Air Force Base. Located on Cape Canaveral in the state of Florida, CCAFS is the primary launch head of America's Eastern Range with four launch pads...	1962-015A
Ariel 2 Ariel 2 Ariel 2, also known as UK-C, was a British radio astronomy satellite, which was operated by the Science and Engineering Research Council as part of the Ariel programme. It was built in America by Westinghouse Electric, and had a mass at launch of...	1964-03-27	Scout Scout (rocket) The Scout family of rockets were launch vehicles designed to place small satellites into orbit around the Earth. The Scout multistage rocket was the first orbital launch vehicle to be entirely composed of solid fuel stages....	Wallops Island Wallops Flight Facility Wallops Flight Facility , located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, is operated by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, primarily as a rocket launch site to support science and exploration missions for NASA and other U.S. government agencies...	1964-015A
Ariel 3 Ariel 3 Ariel 3 was the first artificial satellite designed and constructed in the United Kingdom. it was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on May 5, 1967 aboard a Scout launch vehicle. Ariel 3 had an orbital period of approximately 95 minutes, with an apogee of 608 km and a perigee of 497 km...	1967-05-05	Scout	Vandenberg AFB Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately northwest of Lompoc, California. It is under the jurisdiction of the 30th Space Wing, Air Force Space Command ....	1967-042A	The first artificial satellite designed and constructed in the United Kingdom.
Ariel 4 Ariel 4 Ariel 4, also known as UK 4, was a British ionospheric research satellite, which was operated by the Science and Engineering Research Council. It was built by the British Aircraft Corporation, and had a mass at launch of...	1971-12-11	Scout	Vandenberg	1971-109A
Ariel 5	1974-10-15	Scout	San Marco San Marco platform The Luigi Broglio Space Centre is an Italian-owned spaceport near Malindi, Kenya, named after its founder and Italian space pioneer Luigi Broglio. Developed in the 1960s through a partnership between the University of Rome La Sapienza's Aerospace Research Centre and NASA, the BSC served as a...	1974-077A	Satellite operations were directed from a control centre at the Appleton Lab Rutherford Appleton Laboratory The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory is one of the national scientific research laboratories in the UK operated by the Science and Technology Facilities Council . It is located on the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus at Chilton near Didcot in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom...
Ariel 6 Ariel 6 Ariel 6, also known as Ariel VI and UK-6, was a British satellite launched in 1979 as part of the Ariel programme. It was operated by the Science Research Council, which became the Science and Engineering Research Council in 1981. Ariel 6 was used for astronomical research, and operated until...	1979-06-02	Scout	Wallops Island	1979-047A	The last satellite in the Ariel series.