The final preparations are underway in French Guiana: in a couple of weeks Europe will finally be able to see Ariane 6, its new heavy launcher, fly. The inaugural launch is currently scheduled for July 9th, between 8pm and 11pm Italian time. Last week the Wet Dress Rehearsal took place, a sort of dress rehearsal. The activities preceding the starting of the engines were replicated and everything seems to have gone well.
The debut of this giant between 56 and 62 meters tall depending on the configurations will be a historic moment for the Kourou spaceport. “It’s a completely new launch system – says Michel Bonnet of ESA, the director of the inaugural flight – The ramp is also new and there are new facilities”. Compared to previous generations, Ariane 6 is more versatile, more powerful and able to respond to the increasingly varied requests coming from the market.
The first mission will mainly have the task of testing the launcher, but some loads will still be brought into orbit, such as small cubesats. The launch of a French satellite is expected by the end of the year, then six launches are scheduled in 2025 and eight launches in 2026. In perspective, we could even reach eleven launches in the course of a single year.
Ariane 6 was developed with the contribution of 13 European countries. From an industrial point of view, Italy supplied in particular the P120 C engines, which are also used for the Vega C light launcher.
“Arianespace already has orders for 30 launches and they have not yet flown – says Pier Domenico Resta, head of Engineering for the Ariane 6 Launch System at ESA – This gives us infinite pleasure”. The largest private customer at the moment is Amazon, which has booked 18 launches for its new Kuiper satellite constellation, which will provide internet connections and compete with Starlink.
The inaugural launch has been long awaited by Europe. The program has had several delays, so much so that some European missions were forced to use US launchers to leave. The debut of Ariane 6 will therefore be fundamental for recovering autonomy in accessing space.
