Ariane 6 joint update report, 9 August 2023
Here is the latest regular report on progress made and upcoming steps towards inaugural flight of the new Ariane 6 launcher.
The next update will be detailed at a media briefing to be held in September.
Current situation:
The last update on Ariane 6 progress was provided in July after launch system tests were successfully conducted at Europe Spaceport’s in Kourou, French Guiana, on 18 July. The 18 July tests included core-stage tank filling operations as well as a series of operational procedures verifying the performance of the interactions between the launcher and the ground on the Ariane 6 launch pad.
After reaching 90% of the test sequence objectives, the very last part of the 18 July test – a short hot firing of the Vulcain 2.1 engine – could not be conducted. The decision was taken to run a new test on 29 August 2023, after a necessary reconfiguration of the ground system.
Next milestones towards inaugural flight:
29 August 2023: Vulcain 2.1 core stage engine short firing test - this 4-second engine burn will be the final item in a test routine that includes fuelling and emptying Ariane 6 with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen and a countdown sequence. Test carried out using the test model of the rocket on the launch pad at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.
1 September 2023: third hot-firing test of the upper stage in Lampoldshausen - at German aerospace agency DLR’s technical centre in Lampoldshausen, (Germany), engineers from DLR and ArianeGroup will test-fire Ariane 6’s upper stage Vinci engine and its smaller Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) to simulate the way they will operate together during a flight.
26 September 2023: Vulcain 2.1 core stage engine long firing test – a long-duration Vulcain 2.1 firing will run for about 470 seconds to simulate an actual flight. This test, to be carried out using the test model of the rocket installed on its launch pad, will give engineering teams all the results needed to define a launch period for the Ariane 6 inaugural flight in 2024.
The Ariane 6 Task Force consists of top management of ESA, launch base prime contractor CNES, launcher system prime contractor ArianeGroup and launch service provider Arianespace.