EUROPE TO LAUNCH FIRST ARIANE 6 ROCKET JUNE-JULY
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The long-awaited first launch of the European Space Agency’s next-generation Ariane 6 rocket is scheduled to occur between June 15 and July 31 of next year, the agency revealed on Thursday.
The COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing technical difficulties have prevented the rocket launcher system from taking off as scheduled in 2020, depriving Europe of a self-sufficient means of launching large-scale space missions.
The announcement of the launch date range for 2024 was made, according to ESA chief Josef Aschbacher, at a news conference following the “complete success” of a dress rehearsal held last week at Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana.
The Vulcain 2.1 engine of the launcher had to be started and run for more than seven minutes during that test.
It’s a “good day” for European space operations, according to Aschbacher, who also mentioned that a more accurate launch date will likely be revealed in March or April of 2024.
The choice on a precise date will be made after the rocket has undergone a “general qualification review,” according to Philippe Baptiste, the chairman of the French space agency CNES.
Two further tests under “degraded conditions” must be passed by the Ariane 6 by December 3 and December 15.
The CEO of ArianeGroup, the company that makes the rocket, Martin Sion, stated that these tests will confirm that the launcher’s “reliability and robustness” live up to expectations.
The billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX is one of the rocket companies that the Ariane 6 was intended to compete with.
After 27 years of launches, the Ariane 5, its workhorse predecessor, launched for the final time in July.
The ESA lacks a backup method of mission launch until the Ariane 6 is ready, as the smaller Vega C was grounded after a launch mishap in December and Russia withdrew its Soyuz rockets in retaliation to sanctions over Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
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