Ariane 62 Maiden Flight

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Arianespace - Ariane 62 - Maiden Flight - ELA-4 - Guiana SC - French Guiana - Space Affairs Live

The European Space Agency is scheduled to launch the first Ariane 6, a two-booster medium lift Ariane 62 (vs. the four-booster heavy lift Ariane 64), in a four-hour launch window starting 09 July 2024 18:00 UTC. The rocket will carry a number of rideshare payloads. Launch will be from the Ariane 6 Launch Complex in French Guyana.

Ariane 6 Launch Complex

[Welcome to the Ariane 6 launch complex] The first flight of Ariane 6 is now expected to be in late 2022. Cost per launch is estimated at €75 million for the two solid booster version (10.35 tonnes to low Earth orbit [LEO]) and €115 million for four solid boosters (21.65 tonnes to LEO). By comparison, the SpaceX Falcon 9 costs around US$ 50 million (~ €43 million) for a launch with recovery of the first stage, with payload of 15.6 tonnes to LEO.

European Space Agency Ariane 6 Full-Duration Core Stage Static Test

[Ariane 6 full stage engine hot-fire test] The test is scheduled to begin around 20:00 UTC on 2023-11-23. The live Webcast is planned to start around 20 minutes before the start of the test firing. The Ariane 6 core stage Vulcain 2.1 engine is planned to run for 470 seconds, following the thrust profile of a normal orbital mission. Around 150 tonnes of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellant will be burned in the test.

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Scott Manley’s assessment:

Europe Debuts New Ariane 6 Rocket Successfully... Mostly. What Went Wrong?