2024-06-11 04:00:14
ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher announced at the ILA Berlin Air Show that the first Ariane 6 launch is scheduled for 9 July 2024 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
Josef Aschbacher was joined on stage by Ariane 6 launcher working group partners, ArianeGroup CEO Martin Sion, CNES CEO Philippe Baptiste andArianespace Stéphane Israël, on the occasion of the announcement of this important step. Walther Pelzer, CEO of theSpace Agency German at the DLR, was also present for the occasion.
Ariane 6 is the new European heavy-lift launcher, which takes over from its predecessor, Ariane 5. Modular and versatile, Ariane 6 has a re-ignitable upper stage allowing it to launch several missions into different orbits in a single flight.
Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General, said: “Ariane 6 marks a new era of autonomous and versatile space travel in Europe. This powerful launcher is the culmination of many years of determination and ingenuity by thousands of people across Europe, and when it is launched it will restore Europe’s independent access to space. I am pleased to announce that the first launch attempt will take place on 9 July. I would like to thank the teams on the ground for their unwavering hard work, teamwork and determination in this latest milestone of the campaign of the launch of the maiden flight. Ariane 6 is the European launcher that meets our needs today, adaptable to our future ambitions.“
In the development of Ariane 6, ESA is the architect of the launch system, working with prime contractor ArianeGroup on the development of the launcher and with CNES on the development of the ground segment. ESA is the operator responsible for the maiden flight. For subsequent flights, Arianespace will be the launch service provider that markets and operates the Ariane 6 launcher to launch a variety of missions into orbit for institutional and commercial customers.
Credits: © ESA-M.Polo
“With the announcement of the scheduled date for the first flight of Ariane 6, we are entering the final stretch of the launch campaign. We are fully committed to reaching the final milestones. This flight will mark the culmination of years of development and testing by ArianeGroup teams and its partners across Europe. It will pave the way for commercial operation and a significant ramp-up over the next two years. With Ariane 6, a high-performance, versatile and scalable launcher, Europe will benefit from autonomous access to space.“, said Martin Sion, Executive Chairman of ArianeGroup.Once again, the announcement of the date of the maiden flight of Ariane 6, from the Guiana Space Centre, is a crucial step towards ensuring European sovereignty in terms of access to space. Reaching this date was possible thanks to the colossal work carried out by theensemble stakeholders in the final stretch. I want to once again salute this collective feat of having overcome the pitfalls over the months. Now it’s time for the final adjustments before the launch. Take off imminent for European space: all united behind Ariane 6!” exclaimed Philippe Baptiste, President and CEO of CNES.
“With 30 missions in its backlog, Ariane 6 has already gained the trust of its institutional and commercial customers. We are preparing to carry out the second launch of Ariane 6 by the end of the year, then to increase the pace to aim for around ten launches per year at cruising speed. This is a magnificent challenge to take on with our partners.“, added Stéphane Israël, Executive Chairman of Arianespace.
At Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, many different payloads have been integrated onto the Ariane 6 Payload Adapter. The last major step before launch will be the dress rehearsal. Once this activity is completed, the Ariane 6 Launcher Working Group will issue a new status update on the maiden flight.
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