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Trial by fire for Ariane 6’s upper stage On 1 September 2023 ESA’s all-new Ariane 6 launch vehicle fired its two upper stage engines to simulate the way they will have to operate together at German aerospace agency DLR’s engine test centre in Lampoldshausen, Germany. The test – of the new Vinci engine and a smaller Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) – took place on a purpose-built test bench. Vinci, the upper stage engine of Ariane 6 fed by liquid hydrogen and oxygen, can be stopped and restarted multiple times – to place satellites into different orbits and then de-orbit the upper stage, so it is not left behind as hazardous debris in space. The APU makes it possible for Vinci to restart in space, by maintaining adequate pressure in the fuel tanks and preventing bubbles in the fuel lines. The power unit uses small amounts of liquid hydrogen and oxygen from the main tanks – replacing a system which relied on large quantities of tanked helium. Ariane 6 is an all-new design, created to succeed Ariane 5 as Europe's heavy-lift launch system. This autonomous capability to reach Earth orbit and deep space is the foundation of Europe's vision of space-enabled navigation, Earth observation, scientific and security services. This vision is reality thanks to the sustained dedication of thousands of talented people working in ESA's 22 Member States who call themselves #SpaceTeamEurope. ESA owns and manages the Ariane 6 programme and defines its performance objectives; ArianeGroup is the prime contractor, and launch operator is Arianespace. France's space agency, CNES, operates Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana – the home of Ariane launchers since the first liftoff in 1979.

Ariane 5 bows out in style The Ariane 5 launch vehicle liftoff for flight VA261 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 5 July at 23:00 BST (6 July at 00:00 CEST). Flight VA261 carried two payloads into space – the German space agency DLR’s experimental communications satellite Heinrich Hertz and the French communications satellite Syracuse 4b. The flight was the 117th and final mission for Ariane 5, a series which began in 1996.

Watch the replay of the media briefing and the question-and-answer session outlining the progress achieved and the upcoming steps in the Ariane 6 development test campaign. Updates are given on tests conducted at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, and at the German Aerospace Center DLR’s technical centre in Lampoldshausen, Germany. The briefing was held on 4 September 2023 from ESA’s Headquarters in Paris, France. Participants included: Josef Aschbacher, Director General, ESA Martin Sion, CEO, ArianeGroup Philippe Baptiste, Chairman and CEO, CNES Stéphane Israël, CEO, Arianespace Toni Tolker-Nielsen, Director of Space Transportation, ESA Carine Leveau, Director of Space Transportation, CNES Stefan Schlechtriem, Director of Lampoldshausen, DLR The Ariane 6 launcher task force consists of top management at ESA, launch base prime contractor and France’s space agency CNES, launcher system prime contractor ArianeGroup and launch service provider Arianespace. This group reports regularly on progress being made towards the first flight of Ariane 6.

On 5 September 2023, teams from France’s space agency CNES and Arianegroup under the lead of ESA carried out a complete Ariane 6 launch sequence on its launch pad at Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana. The test ended with a hot-fire of the launcher’s core stage and startup of the Vulcain 2.1 engine. This is a key step in the test campaign. It follows from initial integration of the Ariane 6 launcher on its launch pad, electrical and fluid system tests and the first launch sequence test run on 18 July 2023. This test involved a launch sequence and final countdown representative of a launch, including removal of the Ariane 6 mobile gantry and filling the launcher’s upper and core stage tanks with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The test ended with the ignition and the startup of the core stage’s Vulcain 2.1 engine, followed by four seconds of firing. The next milestone is to complete a core stage long hot-fire test, where the Vulcain 2.1 engine will operate for about 8 minutes. Ariane 6 is an all-new design, created to succeed Ariane 5 as Europe's heavy-lift launch system. With Ariane 6's upper stage and its reignitable Vinci engine, Europe's launch capability will be tailored to the needs of multiple payloads, for example to orbit satellite constellations. This autonomous capability to reach Earth orbit and deep space supports Europe's navigation, Earth observation, scientific and security programmes. Ongoing development of Europe's space transportation capabilities is made possible by the sustained dedication of thousands of talented people working in ESA's 22 Member States.