Ariane 1 was the first launch vehicle in the Ariane family, developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) in France. It made its maiden flight on December 4, 1979, from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. The rocket was designed to place satellites into low Earth orbit and was capable of carrying payloads of up to 2,500 kilograms. The Ariane 1 rocket stood 47 meters tall and had a diameter of 3 meters. It featured a core stage powered by a single Viking engine, supplemented by two solid rocket boosters for additional thrust. The success of Ariane 1 paved the way for subsequent models in the Ariane series, contributing significantly to European space capabilities.