Ariane 5 lightning experiment. Man-made lightning strike during an experiment using a model of the European Space Agency's Ariane 5 rocket. This experiment is designed to prove that Ariane 5's sensitive electronic components could withstand the electromagnetic interference caused by a lightning strike. The 40-metre high electrical equipment can generate lightning bolts with 4 million volts. The model, one-twentieth of Ariane 5's actual size, is protected by lightning conductors around it. These lightning conductors, linked by electric cables, channel the lightning's electrical charge safely to the ground.