Europe’s latest heavy-lift rocket Ariane 6 completed its inaugural flight from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 9 July at 16:00 local time.
The successful launch reinstates European access to space, taking over from its predecessor, Ariane 5.
General Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s Director said, “I am privileged to have witnessed this historic moment when Europe’s new generation of the Ariane family lifted off – successfully – effectively reinstating European access to space.”
Ariane 6 features a modular design capable of launching missions from low-Earth orbit to deep space. The inaugural flight, designated VA262, aims to demonstrate Ariane 6’s capabilities in escaping Earth’s gravity and operating in space.
One hour after liftoff, the first set of satellites were released from the upper stage and placed into an orbit 600km above Earth. The launch also tested the new custom-built launch zone at the French Guiana Spaceport, which is designed to facilitate faster turnover of Ariane launches.
Philippe Baptiste, CEO of French space agency Centre National d’Études Spatiales, said, “With this first successful launch by Ariane 6, Europe has finally recovered its capacity to access space.”
Martin Sion, Chief Executive Officer of ArianeGroup, the prime contractor and design authority, said, “Seeing Europe’s new launcher lift off into space marks the culmination of an outstanding technical and technological adventure, and the beginning of a long history of Ariane 6 operations.”
The Ariane 6 upper stage will demonstrate the Vinci engine, which can be restarted during a mission to allow for multiple payload deployments in different orbits on future missions. Two re-entry capsules will be released as the upper stage enters Earth’s atmosphere, ensuring clean disposal without leaving space debris in orbit.
The rocket is being developed in two versions to be cost-effective for different missions. Ariane 62 will use two boosters while Ariane 64 will use four to reach higher orbits or carry heavier payloads.
Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace, added, “The success of this first flight marks the start of Ariane 6’s operational career, giving Europe autonomous access to space.”
The next Ariane 6 launch is planned for later this year, marking its first commercial flight under Arianespace as operator and launch service provider. Ariane 6 has an order book that demonstrates its versatility and capacity to accomplish various missions into multiple orbits said ArianeSpace, reflecting customer confidence in the new launcher for both institutional and commercial missions.
