“The 700 tonne steel table that will support Ariane 6 at liftoff was transferred to the pad at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 10 September 2018. It is so large that it arrived in parts by ship in February and was then welded together and fitted with equipment at a preparation area 250 m from the launch pad.
Moving this giant 4 m high, 20 m long and 18 m wide table to its permanent position on the centre of the pad is complex. Four hydraulic jacks lifted the table then two trollies moved the table to the edge of the launch pad. A temporary railway and a mechanical guidance system helped roll the table into position over the centre of the pad where it will be lowered with millimeter precision into its final position. Further mechanical, fluidic and electrical equipment will be installed inside and outside the table.”
“At Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, everything is being prepared to accommodate Europe’s newest launcher, Ariane 6. A new launch pad is under construction and the mobile gantry protecting the launcher will soon be visible. The new assembly building dimensions can now be fully seen as the outer shell is almost complete.
Ariane 6 will guarantee Europe’s independent access to space and should consolidate Arianespace’s leading role on the satellites launch market. The first Ariane 6 launch is scheduled for July 2020.”
“The first hot firing of Ariane 6’s Vulcain 2.1 main engine was performed in January 2018 at the DLR German Aerospace Center test facility in Lampoldshausen, Germany.
The engine, developed by ArianeGroup, has a simplified and more robust nozzle, a gas generator made through additive manufacturing, and an oxygen heater for oxygen tank pressurisation. These features lower the cost of the engine and simplify manufacturing.”
“ESA and European industry are currently developing a new-generation launcher: Ariane 6. This follows the decision taken at the ESA Council meeting at Ministerial level in December 2014, to maintain Europe’s leadership in the fast-changing commercial launch service market while responding to the needs of European institutional missions. This move is associated with a change in the governance of the European launcher sector, based on a sharing of responsibility, cost and risk by ESA and industry.
The participating states are: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
The overarching aim of Ariane 6 is to provide guaranteed access to space for Europe at a competitive price without requiring public sector support for exploitation. Different concepts have been examined for Ariane 6 such as single- and dual-payloads, solid or cryogenic propulsion for the main stage, and the number of stages (three or more), all to cover a wide range of missions: GEO, either directly or through intermediate orbits, in particular GTO and LEO; Polar/SSO; MEO or MTO.
The targeted payload performance of Ariane 6 is over 4.5 t for polar/Sun-synchronous orbit missions at 800 km altitude and the injection of two first-generation Galileo satellites. Ariane 6 can loft a payload mass of 4.5–10.5 tonnes in equivalent geostationary transfer orbit.
The exploitation cost of the Ariane 6 launch system is its key driver. Launch service costs will be halved, while maintaining reliability by reusing the trusted engines of Ariane 5. The first flight is scheduled for 2020.”
“ESA and European industry are currently developing a new-generation launcher: Ariane 6. This follows the decision taken at the ESA Council meeting at Ministerial level in December 2014, to maintain Europe’s leadership in the fast-changing commercial launch service market while responding to the needs of European institutional missions.
This move is associated with a change in the governance of the European launcher sector, based on a sharing of responsibility, cost and risk by ESA and industry. The participating states are: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
The overarching aim of Ariane 6 is to provide guaranteed access to space for Europe at a competitive price without requiring public sector support for exploitation. Different concepts have been examined for Ariane 6 such as single- and dual-payloads, solid or cryogenic propulsion for the main stage, and the number of stages (three or more), all to cover a wide range of missions: GEO, either directly or through intermediate orbits, in particular GTO and LEO, Polar/SSO, MEO or MTO.
The targeted payload performance of Ariane 6 is over 4.5 t for polar/Sun-synchronous orbit missions at 800 km altitude and the injection of two first-generation Galileo satellites. Ariane 6 can loft a payload mass of 4.5–10.5 tonnes in equivalent geostationary transfer orbit.
The exploitation cost of the Ariane 6 launch system is its key driver. Launch service costs will be halved, while maintaining reliability by reusing the trusted engines of Ariane 5. The first flight is scheduled for 2020.
Ariane 6 has a ‘PHH’ configuration, indicating the sequence of stages: a first stage using strap-on boosters based on solid propulsion (P) and a second and third stage using cryogenic liquid oxygen and hydrogen propulsion (H).
Ariane 6 provides a modular architecture using either two boosters (Ariane 62) or four boosters (Ariane 64), depending on the required performance. Two or four P120 solid-propellant boosters will be common with Vega C, an evolution of the current Vega launcher.
The main stage containing liquid oxygen and hydrogen is based around the Vulcain 2 engine of Ariane 5.
The upper stage of Ariane 6 builds on developments for the Adapted Ariane 5 ME, and cryogenic propulsion using the Vinci engine. It will be restartable and have direct deorbiting features to mitigate space debris.
Flexibility is a design characteristic for A64 and A62. The launcher responds to different market needs by varying the number of boosters in the configuration.
The A62, with two P120 solid boosters, will be used mainly in single-launch configurations, while the A64 – with four P120 solids – will enable double launch of medium-class satellites over 4.5–5 t, mainly for commercial market needs.
The main characteristics of the Ariane 6 concept are: the total length of the vehicle is about 62 m; the cryogenic main stage holds about 150 t of propellants, the upper stage holds about 30 t; the external diameter of the cryogenic main stage and upper stages including the part that connects the fairing is about 5.4 m.”
“Decided upon in Luxembourg by the European Space Agency Council Meeting at Ministerial Level, Ariane 6 is a modular three-stage launcher (solid–cryogenic–cryogenic) with two configurations using: four boosters (A64) or two boosters (A62).”
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