Ariane 6 Rocket Took Off From European Spaceport In French Guiana
The Ariane 6 soared from the European spaceport in French Guiana at 4 p.m. local time, July 9 after about a decade of development.
Credit: ESA
Heavy Lifting
Europe return to the heavy-lift launcher business on July 9 with the inaugural flight of the Ariane 6 rocket.
Credit: ESA/S. Corvaja
Rocket Carried Several Payloads
The European Space Agency (ESA) managed the flight, designated VA262, to demonstrate the capabilities of the new launcher, including the ability of the upper stage to relight. The rocket carried several payloads.
Credit: ESA/S. Corvaja
P120C Boosters
The inaugural flight involved an Ariane 62 configuration, featuring two P120C solid rocket boosters. Commercial launch service provider Arianespace also offers a four-booster version, called Ariane 64, to provide more payload capacity.
Credit: ESA
ESA Deploys First Set Of Satellites Onboard Rocket
ESA deployed the first set of satellites on board Ariane 6 from the upper stage about an hour after liftoff and placed them into an orbit 600 km above Earth.
Credit: ESA
Production Ramp-Up
The July 9 flight clears the way for the first Arianespace-managed mission before year-end, despite some issues with the final maneuvers of the upper stage, program officials said after the launch. It also means rocket-maker ArianeGroup needs to scale up output for future missions.
Credit: ArianeGroup
The first Ariane 6 medium- to heavy-lift launcher placed payloads into orbit in its debut flight July 9 and partially demonstrated its technology features. The rocket lifted off at 4 p.m. local time (3 p.m. EDT) from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Launch service provider Arianespace will take over starting with the second flight, penciled in by year’s end. Small payloads, mainly cubesats, were released into a 600-km (370-mi.) orbit, our France Bureau Chief Thierry Dubois reported.
