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I hope this isn't a duplicate.

In earlier Ariane rockets, there's a lot of panels which seem to fall off of the interstage immediately upon liftoff, exposing a highly reflective surface.

enter image description here

Source:

I can't imagine it's something thermal--after all, there were no cryogens used--but that's the only thing I can come up with right now, given the apparent reflectivity and what I assume must be very light weight to flutter off harmlessly (?).

What are these, did they pose any threat to puncturing the main tanks, and why weren't they just taken off earlier?

Anton Hengst
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  • Found in the "Related" questions on the right side of the screen: Why do Ariane rockets not have ice break off on liftoff? but I'm not sure if it's the same thing or not. – uhoh Feb 04 '20 at 02:56
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    It isn't, I'm afraid. Not only do those answers refer specifically to the 5, that second answer is downright wrong. – Anton Hengst Feb 04 '20 at 02:59
  • watching the launch starting about 0:24, it looks like the Ariane 1 had some kind of sheath with "ariane 01" printed down the side, and it's this sheath that breaks away on launch. Annoyingly, camera moves away from this shot as the rocket lifts off. This sheath seems to be in the same place on the Ariane 2 launch about 1:37 and Ariana 3 launch at 1:53. – HorusKol Feb 04 '20 at 05:52
  • The bits coming off the rocket at 2:20 seem to be protecting the points where the boosters are mounted to the main rocket. You can see them clearer as the rocket lifts at about 2:49 – HorusKol Feb 04 '20 at 05:57
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    So the bits coming from the SRB mountings: https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/40215/what-is-this-flying-debris-during-ariane-5-liftoff – HorusKol Feb 04 '20 at 06:06
  • Cover plates. At leasr on Ariane 5: https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/40215/what-is-this-flying-debris-during-ariane-5-liftoff/40216#40216 – gwally Feb 04 '20 at 14:08
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    The answer is "Before takeoff, while waiting on the launch platform, the tanks of the second stage are protected by a thermal cover made of polystyrene, ventilated with cold air, which limits the heat exchange between the propellant and the external environment. The evaporated N2O4 is above 20 °C. This thermal cover is dropped off during the launch, pulled by cables attached to the umbilical tower." Sadly that means this question is a duplicate. – Organic Marble Feb 04 '20 at 19:38

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