Ariane 6, Europe’s new heavy lift rocket, was successfully launched for the first time from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana.
During its 3rd phase of its orbital flight, the upper stage of the Ariane 6 experienced an anomaly, leading to a cancellation of the planned release of the last experimental capsules in its payload.
Ariane 6 features a reignitable upper stage allowing it to launch multiple missions on different orbits on a single flight.
The Ariane 6 is designed to be more efficient and cost-effective than its predecessor, Ariane 5, with a lower production cost of approximately $200 million per launch. Ariane 6 has a payload capacity of 21.5 metric tons to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) and 10.7 metric tons to low Earth orbit (LEO). The Ariane 6 has an external diameter of 5.4 meters and a height of 63 meters. The fairing is 20 meters. The vehicle uses a combination of liquid (first and second stages) and solid propellants (side boosters).
For the development of Ariane 6, ESA is the Launch System Architect working with prime contractor ArianeGroup for the development of the launch vehicle and with CNES for the development of the ground segment. ESA is the operator responsible for the inaugural flight while for subsequent flights Arianespace is the launch service provider that markets and operates the Ariane 6 launcher for institutional and commercial customers to launch a variety of missions into orbit.
ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said: “Ariane 6 marks a new era of autonomous, versatile European space travel. This powerful rocket is the culmination of many years of dedication and ingenuity from thousands across Europe and, as it launches, it will re-establish Europe’s independent access to space. Ariane 6 is Europe’s rocket for the needs of today, adaptable to our future ambitions.”
The customer manifest for Ariane 6 includes
• European Space Agency (ESA)
• Eutelsat
• Qualsat
• Hellas-Sat
• KTsat
• OneWeb
