Ariane 6

Ariane 6
FunctionA62: Medium-lift launch vehicle
A64: Heavy-lift launch vehicle
ManufacturerArianeGroup
Country of originEuropean multi-national[a]
Project cost€3.6 billion[1]
Cost per launchA62: €75 million
A64: €115 million[2][3]
Size
Height63 m (207 ft)
Diameter5.4 m (18 ft)
MassA62: 530,000 kg (1,170,000 lb)
A64: 860,000 kg (1,900,000 lb)
Stages2
Capacity
Payload to LEO
MassA64: 21,650 kg (47,730 lb)
A62: 10,350 kg (22,820 lb)[4]
Payload to GTO
Orbital inclination6°
MassA64: 11,500 kg (25,400 lb)
A62: 4,500 kg (9,900 lb)[4]
Payload to GEO
Orbital inclination0°
MassA64: 5,000 kg (11,000 lb)[4]
Payload to SSO
Orbital inclination97.4°
MassA64: 15,500 kg (34,200 lb)
A62: 7,200 kg (15,900 lb)[4]
Payload to LTO
MassA64: 8,600 kg (19,000 lb)
A62: 3,500 kg (7,700 lb)[4]
Associated rockets
FamilyAriane
ComparableFalcon 9, Falcon Heavy, H3, Vulcan Centaur
Launch history
StatusActive
Launch sitesGuiana Space Centre, ELA-4
Total launches1
Partial failure(s)1[disputed – discuss]
First flight9 July 2024 (2024-07-09)[5]
Boosters – P120C
No. boosters2 or 4
Diameter3 m (9.8 ft)
Propellant mass142,000 kg (313,000 lb)
Maximum thrust3,500 kN (790,000 lbf) each
Burn time130 seconds
PropellantHTPB / AP / Al
First stage
Diameter5.4 m (18 ft)
Propellant mass140,000 kg (310,000 lb)
Powered by1 × Vulcain 2.1
Maximum thrust1,370 kN (310,000 lbf)
Burn time468 seconds
PropellantLH2 / LOX
Second stage
Diameter5.4 m (18 ft)
Propellant mass31,000 kg (68,000 lb)
Powered by1 × Vinci
Maximum thrust180 kN (40,000 lbf)
Burn timeUp to 900 seconds and four burns[6]
PropellantLH2 / LOX
[edit on Wikidata]

Ariane 6 is a European expendable launch system operated by Arianespace and developed and produced by ArianeGroup on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). It replaces Ariane 5, as part of the Ariane launch vehicle family.

This two-stage rocket utilizes liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen (hydrolox) engines. The first stage features an upgraded Vulcain engine from Ariane 5, while the second uses the Vinci engine, designed specifically for this rocket. The Ariane 62 variant uses two P120 solid rocket boosters, while Ariane 64 uses four. The P120 booster is shared with Europe's other launch vehicle, Vega C, and is an improved version of the P80 rocket stage used on the original Vega.

Selected in December 2014 over an all-solid-fuel option, Ariane 6 was originally targeted for a 2020 launch. However, the program encountered delays, with the first launch occurring on 9 July 2024.

Ariane 6 is designed to halve launch costs and increase annual capacity from seven to eleven missions compared to its predecessor, but the program has faced controversy over high costs and lack of reusability versus competitors' rockets, such as SpaceX's Falcon 9. European officials defend the program, saying it provides crucial independent space access for its member states.

Description[edit]

Two variants of Ariane 6 are being developed:

  • Ariane 62 (A62), with two P120 solid boosters, weighs around 530,000 kg (1,170,000 lb) at liftoff and is mainly for government and scientific missions.[7] It can launch up to 4,500 kg (9,900 lb) into geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) and 10,350 kg (22,820 lb) into low Earth orbit (LEO). The first launch used this variant.
  • Ariane 64 (A64), with four P120 boosters, has a liftoff weight of around 860,000 kg (1,900,000 lb)[8] and is intended for commercial dual-satellite launches[7] of up to 11,500 kg (25,400 lb) into GTO and 21,500 kg (47,400 lb) into LEO. Like Ariane 5, it will be able to launch two geosynchronous satellites together. The first launch is planned for no earlier than 2025

First stage[edit]

The first (lower) stage of Ariane 6 is called the Lower Liquid Propulsion Module (LLPM). It is powered by a single Vulcain 2.1 engine, burning liquid hydrogen (LH2) with liquid oxygen (LOX).[9] Vulcain 2.1 is an updated version of the Vulcain 2 engine from Ariane 5 with lower manufacturing costs.[clarification needed] The LLPM is 5.4 m (18 ft) in diameter and contains approximately 140 tonnes (310,000 lb) of propellant.[10]

Boosters[edit]

Additional thrust for the first stage will be provided by either two or four P120 model solid rocket boosters, known within Ariane 6 nomenclature as Equipped Solid Rockets (ESR).[9] Each booster contains approximately 142,000 kilograms (313,000 lb) of propellant and delivers up to 4,650 kN (1,050,000 lbf) of thrust. The P120 motor is also used in the first stage of the upgraded Vega C launcher. By sharing motors, production volumes can be increased, lowering production costs.[11] The first full-scale test of the ESR occurred at Kourou, French Guiana, on 16 July 2018, and the test completed successfully with thrust reaching 4,615 kN (1,037,000 lbf) in vacuum.[12][13][14]

Second stage[edit]

The second (upper) stage of Ariane 6 is called the Upper Liquid Propulsion Module (ULPM). It shares the same 5.4 m (18 ft) diameter as the LLPM, and also burns liquid hydrogen with oxygen. It is powered by the Vinci engine, which delivers 180 kN (40,000 lbf) of thrust and is capable of multiple restarts.[9] The ULPM will carry about 31 tonnes (68,000 lb) of propellant.[11]

History[edit]

Ariane 6 was conceived in the early 2010s to be a replacement launch vehicle for Ariane 5, and a number of concepts and high-level designs were suggested and proposed during 2012–2015. Development funding from several European governments was secured by early 2016, and contracts were signed to begin detailed design and the build of test articles. In 2019, the maiden orbital flight had been planned for 2020,[15] however by May 2020, the planned initial launch date was delayed into 2021.[16] In October 2020, the European Space Agency (ESA) formally requested an additional €230 million in funding from the countries sponsoring the project to complete development of the rocket and get the vehicle to its first test flight, which had slipped to the second quarter of 2022.[17] By June 2021, the date had delayed to late 2022.[18] In June 2022, a delay was announced to "some time in 2023"[19] and by October 2022, ESA clarified that the first launch would be no earlier than the fourth quarter of 2023, while providing no public reason for the delay.[20] In August 2023, ESA announced that the date for the first launch had slipped again to 2024.[21]

Concept and early development: 2010–2015[edit]

Ariane 6 PPH cutaway drawing

Following detailed definition studies in 2012,[22] ESA announced in July 2013 the selection of the "PPH" (first stage of three P145 rocket motors, second stage of one P145 rocket motor, and H32 cryogenic upper stage) configuration for Ariane 6.[23] It would be capable of launching up to 6,500 kg (14,300 lb) to Geostationary transfer orbit (GTO),[24] with a first flight projected to be as early as 2021–2022.[25] Development was projected to cost €4 billion as of May 2013.[26] A 2014 study concluded that development cost could be reduced to about €3 billion by limiting contractors to five countries.[27]

While Ariane 5 typically launches one large and one medium satellite at a time, the PPH proposal for Ariane 6 was intended for single payloads, with an early 2014 price estimate of approximately US$95 million per launch.[28] The SpaceX Falcon 9 and the Chinese Long March 3B both launch smaller payloads but at lower prices, approximately $57 million and $72 million respectively as of early 2014, making the Falcon 9 launch of a midsize satellite competitive with the cost of the lower slot of a dual payload Ariane 5.[28] For lightweight all-electric satellites, Arianespace intended to use the restartable Vinci engine to deliver the satellites closer to their operational orbit than the Falcon 9 could, thus reducing the time required to transfer to geostationary orbit by several months.[28]

Ariane 6.1 and Ariane 6.2 proposals[edit]

In June 2014, Airbus and Safran surprised ESA by announcing a counter proposal for the Ariane 6 project: a 50/50 joint venture to develop the rocket, which would also involve buying out the French government's CNES interest in Arianespace.[29][30]

This proposed launch system would come in two variants, Ariane 6.1 and Ariane 6.2.[31] While both would use a cryogenic main stage powered by a Vulcain 2 engine and two P145 solid boosters, Ariane 6.1 would feature a cryogenic upper stage powered by the Vinci engine and boost up to 8,500 kg (18,700 lb) to GTO, while Ariane 6.2 would use a lower-cost hypergolic upper stage powered by the Aestus engine. Ariane 6.1 would have the ability to launch two electrically powered satellites at once, while Ariane 6.2 would be focused on launching government payloads.

French newspaper La Tribune questioned whether Airbus Defence and Space could deliver on the promised costs for their Ariane 6 proposal, and whether Airbus and Safran Group could be trusted when they were found to be responsible for a failure of Ariane 5 flight 517 in 2002 and a more recent 2013 failure of the M51 ballistic missile.[32] The companies were also criticised for being unwilling to incur development risks, and asking for higher initial funding than originally planned – €2.6 billion instead of €2.3 billion. Estimated launch prices of €85 million for Ariane 6.1 and €69 million for Ariane 6.2 did not compare favorably to SpaceX offerings.[33] During the meeting of EU ministers in Geneva on 7 June 2014, these prices were deemed too high and no agreement with manufacturers was reached.[34]

Ariane 62 and Ariane 64 proposals[edit]

Originally proposed Ariane A62 and Ariane A64

Following criticism of the Ariane 6 PPH design, France unveiled a revised Ariane 6 proposal in September 2014.[35] This launcher would use a cryogenic main stage powered by the Vulcain 2 and upper stage powered by the Vinci, but vary the number of solid boosters. With two P120 boosters, Ariane 6 would launch up to 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) to GTO at a cost of €75 million. With four boosters, Ariane 6 would be able to launch two satellites totaling 11,000 kg (24,000 lb) to GTO at a cost of €90 million.[36]

This proposal, unlike Ariane 6 PPH, offered a scalable launcher while retaining Ariane 5's dual-launch capability. The proposal also included simplification of the industrial and institutional organisation along with a better and cheaper version of the Vulcain 2 engine for the main stage.[35][36] Although Ariane 6 was projected to have "lower estimated recurring production costs", it was projected to have "a higher overall development cost owing to the need for a new, Ariane 6-dedicated, launch pad".[37]

The Italian, French, and German space ministers met on 23 September 2014, in order to plan strategy and assess the possibility for agreement on funding for the Ariane 5 successor,[38] and in December 2014, ESA selected the Ariane 62 and Ariane 64 designs for development and funding.[39]

At the 2022 International Astronautical Congress, ArianeGroup announced the proposed "Smart Upper Stage for Innovative Exploration", a reusable upper stage for the 64 (or later) variant, capable of autonomous cargo operations or carrying five astronauts to LEO.[40]

Test vehicle development: 2016–2021[edit]

Ariane 62 (left) and Ariane 64 (right), final design

In November 2015, an updated design of Ariane 64 and 62 was presented, with new nose cones on the boosters, main stage diameter increased to 5.4 m (18 ft), and the height decreased to 60 m (200 ft).[41]

The basic design for Ariane 6 was finalised in January 2016 as an expendable liquid-fuelled core stage plus expendable solid-rocket-boosters design. Development advanced into detailed design and production phases, with the first major contracts already signed.[42][43] Unlike previous Ariane rockets, which are assembled and fueled vertically before being transported to the launchpad, the Ariane 6 main stages were to be assembled horizontally at the new integration hall in Les Mureaux and then transported to French Guiana, to be erected and integrated with boosters and payload.[44]

The horizontal assembly process was inspired by the Russian tradition for Soyuz and Proton launchers – which had more recently been applied to the American Delta IV and Falcon 9 boosters[45] – with a stated goal of halving production costs.[46]

The industrial production process was completely overhauled, allowing synchronized workflow between several European production sites moving at a monthly cadence, which would enable twelve launches per year, doubling Ariane 5's yearly capacity.[44] To further lower the price, Ariane 6 engines were to use 3D printed components.[47] Ariane 6 was to be the first large rocket to use a laser ignition system developed by Austria's Carinthian Research Center (CTR), that was previously deployed in automotive and turbine engines.[48] A solid state laser offers an advantage over electrical ignition systems in that it is more flexible with regards to the location of the plasma within the combustion chamber, offers a much higher pulse power and can tolerate a wider range of fuel-air mixture ratios.[49]

Reorganisation of the industry behind a new launch vehicle, leading to the creation of Airbus Safran Launchers (ASL), also started a review by the French government into tax matters, and the European Commission over a possible conflict of interest if Airbus Defence and Space, a satellite manufacturer, were to purchase launches from ASL.[47]

While development was initially slated to be substantially complete in 2019, with an initial launch in 2020, the initial launch date has slipped several times: first to 2021,[50] then to 2022,[17][18] then to 2023,[19] and then to 2024.[51] In October 2022, Arianespace expected the maiden flight to occur in 2023,[20] although in December 2023, Arianespace once again set the flight to occur on 15 June 2024.[51] In June 2024, ESA Executive said its first launch was postponed to July 9th 2024.[52] The maiden flight took place 9 July 2024 and successfully orbited some satellites even though the mission did suffer some problems.

Other development options[edit]

Main article: Adeline (rocket stage)

CNES began studies in 2010[53] on an alternative, reusable first stage for Ariane 6, using a mix of liquid oxygen and liquid methane rather than liquid hydrogen that is used in the 2016 Ariane 6 first-stage design. The methane-powered core could use one or more engines, matching capabilities of Ariane 64 with only two boosters instead of four. As of January 2015, the economic feasibility of reusing an entire stage remained in question. Concurrent with the liquid fly-back booster research in the late 1990s and early 2000s, CNES along with Russia concluded studies[when?] indicating that reusing the first stage was economically unviable as manufacturing ten rockets a year was cheaper and more feasible than recovery, refurbishment and loss of performance caused by reusability.[54] It was suggested[by whom?] that with a Arianespace launch schedule of 12 flights per year, an engine that could be reused a dozen times would produce a demand for only one engine per year, making supporting an ongoing engine manufacturing supply chain unviable.[citation needed]

In June 2015, Airbus Defence and Space announced that Adeline, a partially reusable first stage, would become operational between 2025 and 2030, and that it would be developed as a subsequent first stage for Ariane 6. Rather than developing a way to reuse an entire first stage (like SpaceX), Airbus proposed a system where only high-value parts would be safely returned using a winged module at the bottom of the rocket stack.[53]

In August 2016, ASL gave some more details about future development plans building on the Ariane 6 design. CEO Alain Charmeau revealed that Airbus Safran were now working along two main lines: first, continuing work (at the company's own expense) on the recoverable Adeline engine-and-avionics module; and second, beginning development of a next-generation engine to be called Prometheus. This engine would have about the same thrust as the Vulcain 2 currently powering Ariane 5, but would burn methane instead of liquid hydrogen. Charmeau was non-committal about whether Prometheus (still only in the first few months of development) could be used as an expendable replacement for the Vulcain 2 in Ariane 6, or whether it was tied to the re-usable Adeline design, saying only that "We are cautious, and we prefer to speak when are sure of what we announce... But certainly this engine could very well fit with the first stage of Ariane 6 one day", a decision on whether to proceed with Prometheus in an expendable or reusable role could be made between 2025 and 2030.[55]

Main article: Ariane Next

In 2017, the Prometheus engine project was revealed to have the aim of reducing the engine unit cost from the €10 million of the Vulcain2 to €1 million and allowing the engine to be reused up to five times.[56] The engine development is said to be part of a broader effort – codename Ariane NEXT[57] – to reduce Ariane launch costs by a factor of two beyond improvements brought by Ariane 6. The Ariane NEXT initiative includes a reusable sounding rocket, Callisto, to test the performance of various fuels in new engine designs.[58]

Production[edit]

In a January 2019 interview, Arianespace CEO Stéphane Israël said that the company would require four more institutional launches for Ariane 6 to sign a manufacturing contract. Launch contracts would be needed for the transitional period of 2020–2023 when Ariane 5 will be phased out and gradually replaced by Ariane 6. The company would require European institutions to become an anchor customer for the launcher. In response, ESA representatives said the agency was working on shifting the 2022 launch of the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer from Ariane 5 ECA to Ariane 64, further indicating that there are other institutional customers in Europe that must put their weight behind the project, such as the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) or the European Commission.

As of January 2019, Arianespace had sold three flights of the Ariane 6 launch vehicle.[59] One month later, they added a satellite internet constellation launch contract with OneWeb to utilize the maiden launch of Ariane 6 to help populate the large 600-satellite constellation.[60]

On 6 May 2019, Arianespace ordered the first production batch of 14 Ariane 6 rockets, for missions to be conducted between 2021 and 2023.[61]

Rocket components are transported by sea from Europe to the Guiana Space Centre aboard the Canopée, a cargo vessel that uses sails to assist with its propulsion, reducing fuel use.[62][63]

Development funding[edit]

Ariane 6 is being developed in a public-private partnership with the majority of the funding coming from various ESA government sources — €2.815 billion — while €400 million is reported to be "industry's share".[64]

The ESA Council approved the project on 3 November 2016,[65] and the ESA Industrial Policy Committee released the required funds on 8 November 2016.[66]

In January 2020, two EU institutions, the European Investment Bank and the European Commission, loaned €100 million to Arianespace, drawing from the Horizon 2020 and Investment Plan for Europe corporate investment programmes. The 10-year loan's repayment is tied to the financial success of the Ariane 6 project.[67]

Launch history[edit]

List of launches[edit]

This section is an excerpt from List of Ariane launches (2020–2029) § 2024.[edit]
Flight No. Date
Time (UTC) 		Rocket type
Serial No. 		Launch site Payload Payload mass Orbit Customers Launch
outcome
VA262 9 July 2024
19:00 		Ariane 6 62
601 		Guiana
ELA-4 		Multiple rideshare payloads 1,600 kg[68] LEO Various Partial failure
Maiden flight of Ariane 6. It was a test flight carrying a 1.6 ton mass simulator plus a number of small cubesats and other experiments as rideshare payloads. The launch was delayed by an hour due to an issue with a data acquisition system, but after that the countdown proceed without issue, and the rocket successfully lifted off at 19:00 UTC, flying a northeastern trajectory that took it over Europe. The solid rocket boosters and the rocket's core stage performed nominally during the flight. The Vinci engine on the upper stage was first started at T+8 minutes, firing for 10 minutes to place the rocket in a preliminary orbit. After a coast phase, the upper stage was successfully reignited at T+56 minutes, firing for 22 seconds to circularize its orbit. At this point in the mission, the cubesats were deployed as scheduled. At T+1 hour and 14 minutes, the rocket's auxiliary propulsion system (APU)—which is used for upper stage tank pressurization and also for minor orbital adjustments—failed shortly after being reignited for the final phase of the mission. Since the APU is needed for relighting the upper stage's Vinci engine, this malfunction precluded the third and final planned burn of the upper stage, which was planned for T+2 hours and 37 minutes and would deorbit the vehicle safely over the Pacific Ocean. This left the upper stage, along with two reentry capsule payloads that could not be deployed, stranded in their 580-km circular orbit. At this altitude, their natural orbital decay due to atmospheric drag is expected to take decades.[69][70][71][72]

The payload was primarily a mass simulator but carried multiple rideshare payloads. They include five experiments (PariSat by GAREF, Peregrinus by Sint-Pieterscollege, LIFI by OLEDCOMM, SIDLOC by Libre Space and YPSat by ESA) and eight CubeSats (OOV-Cube by RapidCube, Curium One by PTS, ISTSat by University of Lisbon, 3Cat-4 by Polytechnic University of Catalonia, GRBBEta by Spacemanic, ROBUSTA-3 by University of Montpellier, CURIE by NASA and Replicator by Orbital Matter), which were deployed correctly. The launch also carried two reentry capsules (SpaceCase SC-X01 by ArianeGroup and Nyx Bikini by The Exploration Company) that were slated to be deployed after the second stage was to be deorbited, but the vehicle did not make reentry as planned.[73][74]

Planned launches[edit]

This section is an excerpt from List of Ariane launches (2020–2029) § Planned launches.[edit]
Date
Time (UTC) 		Type Payload Orbit Customers Launch
status
Q4 2024[71][70] Ariane 62 CSO-3 SSO CNES / DGA Planned
French military spy satellite. Despite the problem with the APU on Ariane 6's first flight, an Arianespace official said they are still "perfectly on track now to make the second launch this year".[71]
2025[75][76] Ariane 62 Galileo FOC FM 29, 30 MEO ESA Planned
2025[75][76] Ariane 62 Galileo FOC FM 31, 32 MEO ESA Planned
2025[76] Ariane 62 Galileo FOC FM 33, 34 MEO ESA Planned
2025[77] Ariane 64 Intelsat-41, 44 GTO Intelsat Planned
2025[75][78] Ariane 64 Optus-11 GTO Optus Planned
2025[75][79][80] Ariane 64 Uhura-1 (Node-1)[81] GTO Skyloom Planned
2025[82] Ariane 6 Galileo G2 1 MEO ESA Planned
2025[83] Ariane 6 Hellas Sat 5 GTO Hellas Sat Planned
Q2 2026[84] Ariane 64[85] MTG-I2[86] GTO EUMETSAT Planned
H1 2026[87] Ariane 64 Intelsat 45 GTO Intelsat Planned
Q4 2026[88] Ariane 64 Multi-Launch Service (MLS) #1 rideshare mission GTO TBA Planned
2026[89] Ariane 62[90] PLATO Sun–Earth L2 ESA Planned
Q4 2027[88] Ariane 64 MLS #2 rideshare mission GTO TBA Planned
2027[91] Ariane 64 Earth Return Orbiter Areocentric ESA Planned
Q4 2028[88] Ariane 64 MLS #3 rideshare mission GTO TBA Planned
Q3 2029[88] Ariane 64 MLS #4 rideshare mission GTO TBA Planned
2029[92] Ariane 62 ARIEL, Comet Interceptor Sun–Earth L2 ESA Planned
2030[93][94] Ariane 64 Argonaut (lunar lander) TLI ESA Planned
2035[95] Ariane 64[96] Athena Sun–Earth L2,
Halo orbit 		ESA Planned
2035[97] Ariane 6 LISA Heliocentric ESA Planned
TBD[98] Ariane 64 18 launches of Project Kuiper (35–40 satellites)[99] LEO Kuiper Systems Planned
TBD[100] Ariane 62 Electra GTO SES S.A. / ESA Planned
TBD[100] Ariane 62 Eutelsat ×5 GTO Eutelsat Planned

Criticism[edit]

Ariane 6 has been subject to criticism for its cost per launch and lack of reusability.

When initially approved by ESA in 2012, the rocket was envisioned as a modernized version of Ariane 5, optimized for cost. At the time, commercial competitors like SpaceX were already putting downward pressure on launch costs[101][102]. However, these companies had made few successful flights and had not yet proven that reusability would be economically beneficial. The Space Shuttle was cited by some as an example to the contrary. In the more than a decade that Ariane 6 was in development, the project was delayed and went over budget. During that same time, SpaceX continued to iteratively develop its Falcon 9 rocket, nearly doubling its payload capacity and successfully landing rockets for reuse, making it more capable and far less costly than Ariane 6.[103][104]

European officials have defended Ariane 6 stating that its governments need access to space, independent from other states or private companies. They point to geopolitical events that cut off Europe's access to Russian Soyuz rockets in as an example of that need. They also defend the rocket's lack of reusability, arguing that it would not be economically viable given the rocket’s fewer planned launches.[105][106]

The ESA's member states agreed to subsidize the rocket with up to €340 million annually from its 16th to its 42nd flight (expected in 2031) in return for an 11% discount on launches.[105][107]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ The lead manufacturer is from France, but the rocket has significant contributions from companies based in Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland and Sweden.

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