Ariane 6 takes a crucial step towards its maiden flight

2023-11-23 22:07:54

Published on Nov 23, 2023 at 9:56 p.m.Updated Nov. 23, 2023 at 11:07 p.m.

Ariane 6 passes a decisive milestone. The European heavy launcher successfully completed its first long-duration firing test this Thursday, on its ELA-4 launch pad at the Guiana Space Center in Kourou (CSG). After an interruption of the countdown of around forty minutes due to a technical anomaly, the Vulcain 2.1 engine of the test copy of the rocket ignited at 5:44 p.m. local time – 9:44 p.m. in Paris – to turn off as planned 470 seconds later, or seven minutes and fifty seconds.

This static test is a must for any new launcher, since it allows the entire atmospheric phase of a mission to be simulated. In eight minutes, the Vulcain 2.1, an improved version of the Ariane 5 engine, burned some 150 tonnes of liquid oxygen and hydrogen. The booster thrusters were not ignited.

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