Back Ariane 6 AN أريان 6 Arabic Ariane 6 Catalan Ariane 6 Czech Ariane 6 German Ariane 6 Spanish Ariane 6 Estonian آریان ۶ Persian Ariane 6 French Ariane 6 Galician
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| Function | Medium-heavy launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | ArianeGroup |
| Country of origin | European Space Agency |
| Project cost | €3.6 billion[1] |
| Cost per launch | €75 million (Ariane 62) €115 million (Ariane 64)[2][3] |
| Size | |
| Height | 63 m (207 ft) |
| Diameter | 5.4 m (18 ft) |
| Mass | 530–860 t (520–850 long tons; 580–950 short tons) |
| Stages | 2 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | |
| Mass | A64: 21,650 kg (47,730 lb) A62: 10,350 kg (22,820 lb)[4] |
| Payload to GTO | |
| Orbital inclination | 6° |
| Mass | A64: 11,500 kg (25,400 lb) A62: 4,500 kg (9,900 lb)[4] |
| Payload to GEO | |
| Orbital inclination | 0° |
| Mass | A64: 5,000 kg (11,000 lb)[4] |
| Payload to SSO | |
| Orbital inclination | 97.4° |
| Mass | A64: 15,500 kg (34,200 lb) A62: 7,200 kg (15,900 lb)[4] |
| Payload to LTO | |
| Mass | A64: 8,600 kg (19,000 lb) A62: 3,500 kg (7,700 lb)[4] |
| Associated rockets | |
| Family | Ariane |
| Comparable | Vulcan Centaur, H3, Titan IV, Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy (reusable) |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Active |
| Launch sites | Guiana Space Centre, ELA-4 |
| First flight | July 9, 2024[5] |
| Boosters – Equipped Solid Rocket | |
| No. boosters | 2 or 4 |
| Diameter | 3 m (9.8 ft) |
| Propellant mass | 142,000 kg (313,000 lb) |
| Powered by | P120 |
| Maximum thrust | 4,650 kN (1,050,000 lbf) each |
| Core stage – Lower Liquid Propulsion Module | |
| Diameter | 5.4 m (18 ft) |
| Propellant mass | 140,000 kg (310,000 lb) |
| Powered by | Vulcain 2.1 |
| Maximum thrust | 1,370 kN (310,000 lbf) |
| Propellant | LH2 / LOX |
| Upper stage – Upper Liquid Propulsion Module | |
| Diameter | 5.4 m (18 ft) |
| Propellant mass | 31,000 kg (68,000 lb) |
| Powered by | Vinci |
| Maximum thrust | 180 kN (40,000 lbf) |
| Propellant | LH2 / LOX |
Ariane 6 is a European expendable launch system developed by ArianeGroup on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). It replaces the Ariane 5, as part of the Ariane launch vehicle family. The stated motivation for Ariane 6 (as of 2015) was to halve the cost compared to Ariane 5, and increase the capacity for the number of launches per year (from six or seven to up to eleven).[6]
Ariane 6 is designed with two stages, both powered by liquid hydrogen-liquid oxygen (hydrolox) engines. The first stage has an improved version of the Vulcain engine already used on the Ariane 5, whilst the second stage has a newly designed Vinci engine. Most of the initial lift-off thrust is provided by solid rocket boosters attached to the first stage: either two or four P120s (Ariane 62 and Ariane 64 variants respectively), which are larger versions of the P80s used on the Vega rocket.
Selection of the design concept was made by ESA in December 2014,[7] favouring it over an alternative all-solid-fuel rocket option.[8] Further design was completed in 2015 and it entered the detailed design phase in 2016. In 2017, the ESA set 16 July 2020 as the deadline for the first flight,[9] and in May 2019 Arianespace placed the first production order. Following program delays to 2022 and then 2023, as of August 2023[update], Arianespace has said that the first launch attempt will not occur until 2024.[10] On 26 April 2024 ESA announced the inaugural flight campaign had officially begun.[11] The inaugural flight is expected on 9 July 2024.[12]
- ^ "Media backgrounder for ESA Council at Ministerial Level" (Press release). ESA. 27 November 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ^ Rich, Smith (2 June 2018). "Europe Complains: SpaceX Rocket Prices Are Too Cheap to Beat". The Motley Fool. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ Gallois, Dominique (1 December 2014). "Ariane 6, un chantier européen pour rester dans la course spatiale" [Ariane 6, a European site to remain in the space race]. Le Monde.fr (in French). Le Monde. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Lagier, Roland (March 2021). "Ariane 6 User's Manual Issue 2 Revision 0" (PDF). Arianespace. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
- ^ published, Samantha Mathewson (8 June 2024). "At long last: Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket set to debut on July 9". Space.com. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
spacenews-20141202was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Michel Cabirol (7 July 2014). "Faut-il donner toutes les clés d'Ariane 6 à Airbus et Safran?" (in French). La Tribune. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
- ^ Amos, Jonathan (22 June 2017). "Full thrust on Europe's new rocket". BBC News. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ Foust, Jeff (9 August 2023). "ESA confirms Ariane 6 debut to slip to 2024". SpaceNews. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ "Start of the first Ariane 6 launch campaign". www.esa.int. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
esa-20240605was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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