Europe returns to space with brand new Ariane 6 rocket
But re-ignition glitches raise concerns
Europe's space ambitions received a boost on Tuesday with the successful maiden flight of its next-generation heavy-lift launcher, Ariane 6.
The €4 billion rocket, launched from French Guiana under the watchful eye of a Rafale fighter jet, marked a significant milestone for the continent. After delays, funding debates and political hurdles, Europe regained its independent access to space.
The European Space Agency (ESA) celebrated the mission's primary objective: deploying a suite of satellites into a 600km orbit.
The inaugural flight carried "satellites and experiments from various space agencies, companies, research institutes, universities and young professionals," ESA said.
"A completely new rocket is not launched often, and success is far from guaranteed. I am privileged to have witnessed this historic moment when Europe's new generation of the Ariane family lifted off – successfully – effectively reinstating European access to space," said the ESA's director general, Josef Aschbacher.
"Heartfelt thanks go to the teams at ESA, CNES, ArianeGroup and Arianespace for their hard work to get to this point."
While visually similar to Ariane-5, the new rocket boasts cutting-edge manufacturing techniques like 3D printing and augmented reality design, promising faster production.
Ariane-6 boasts two configurations:
- Ariane-62: Featuring two solid-fuel boosters for medium-sized payloads.
- Ariane-64: Equipped with four strap-on boosters for heavier satellites.
The core stage is complemented by a reusable upper stage capable of multiple re-ignitions, ideal for deploying large satellite constellations. This capability also allows the stage to de-orbit itself, minimising space debris.
While the mission successfully completed a series of tests and deployed several research satellites, a technical hiccup prevented the release of the final payload.
The mission aimed to showcase Ariane 6's unique capability of delivering payloads to multiple orbits in a single flight. This manoeuvrability relies on the upper stage's Vinci engine re-starting in microgravity, a feature not possible to test on the ground.
The plan involved testing a novel auxiliary propulsion unit (APU) to enable the Vinci engine re-start. The goal was to release a pair of re-entry capsules demonstrating this multi-orbit capability.
Unfortunately, things didn't go exactly according to plan.
During a post-flight Q&A, Martin Sion, CEO of ArianeGroup (the company building and operating Ariane 6), revealed that the APU fired once, but the second ignition attempt failed.
"We don't know why it stopped," Sion admitted, highlighting the lack of data needed for immediate analysis.
Despite the glitch, ESA officials remained optimistic, emphasising that the upper stage was placed in a safe orbit.
Looking ahead, ESA officials are confident in further launches.
With the successful debut of Ariane 6, Europe has regained its ability to launch over 20 tons of cargo into low-Earth orbit (with four boosters) or 10.3 tons with a smaller configuration.
"Europe is back in space," declared Philippe Baptiste, head of France's CNES space agency, via video link to the Paris headquarters of the ESA.
With ambitious goals of up to 12 flights annually, Europe aims to reclaim its position in the increasingly competitive space race.
"We can all have our own opinions. What I can just reaffirm is that we have an order book that is full," said Lucia Linares, the head of space transportation strategy at ESA.
"I guess the word goes here to the customers: they have said Ariane-6 is an answer to their needs."