WASHINGTON — The European Space Agency says the first launch of the Ariane 6 remains on track for the middle of 2024 despite an aborted test of the rocket’s upper stage. In a Dec. 19 statement, ESA said it successfully completed a test of an Ariane 6 prototype called combined […]
Ariane 6
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Europe’s new heavy-lift rocket has a firm launch date at last. The European Space Agency (ESA) Ariane 6 rocket from Arianespace will bring its debut mission to space no earlier than June 15, 2024, officials with the testing team announced Thursday (Nov. 30). On board will be a set of […]
WASHINGTON — With the successful completion of a core stage hot-fire test, the European Space Agency says it now expects the first launch of the Ariane 6 to take place in the middle of 2024. At a Nov. 30 briefing, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher announced a launch period for […]
WASHINGTON — The European Space Agency conducted a long-duration firing of an Ariane 6 prototype Nov. 23, one of the final tests before the agency is ready to set a date for the rocket’s inaugural launch. The Vulcain 2.1 engine in the core stage of the Ariane 6 test model […]
Europe has set a new date for a key long-duration static-fire test needed to get the new Ariane 6 rocket ready for launch. The Ariane 6 test article rocket will fire its Vulcain 2.1 engine for a full eight minutes (470 seconds), representing the entire flight phase of the core […]
WASHINGTON — The European Space Agency said Oct. 19 it has rescheduled a long-duration static-fire test of the Ariane 6 rocket for late November, after a major meeting of European government officials where support for the rocket will be on the agenda. In an update, ESA said engineers are continuing […]
Europe’s next-generation heavy-lift rocket just took a big step towards its first, much-awaited launch. The rocket’s core stage Vulcain 2.1 engine burned liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen for four seconds on a launch pad at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on Sept. 5. The hot firing went smoothly and to […]
WASHINGTON — The European Space Agency and ArianeGroup announced a successful hot-fire test of the core stage of the Ariane 6 rocket, the first of two such tests before ESA is ready to set a date for the rocket’s inaugural launch. The test took place Sept. 5 on the launch […]