WASHINGTON — With the successful completion of a core stage hot-fire test, the European Space Agency says it now expects the first launch of the Ariane 6 to take place in the middle of 2024.
At a Nov. 30 briefing, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher announced a launch period for the inaugural Ariane 6 flight of June 15 through July 31. A more precise launch date will be provided after qualification reviews in the spring of 2024.
The announcement comes after a Nov. 23 long-duration test firing of a model of the core stage of the Ariane 6. That test, conducted on the launch pad at Kourou, French Guiana, was intended to simulate a full burn by the core stage.
“It became pretty clear right after the test that this was going very well,” Aschbacher said, a conclusion affirmed at a meeting of an Ariane 6 task force Nov. 29, allowing ESA to set a launch date. “We are very confident that the test was a full success.”
During that test, the core stage’s Vulcain 2.1 engine was intended to fire for 470 seconds. However, the engine shut down after 426 seconds, which officials attributed to a faulty sensor and “very conservative” test thresholds intended to protect the launch pad that would not have been used on an actual launch.
“All the objectives for the test were anyway achieved,” said Toni Tolker-Nielsen, ESA’s director of space transportation. “It didn’t change the success of the test.”
The core stage test took place after a Sept. 1 test of the Ariane 6 upper stage in Germany, which confirmed its performance in a nominal flight. “We’ve got all the hot-fire tests which are needed for the qualification of the maiden flight,” said Martin Sion, chief executive of ArianeGroup, the prime contractor for the Ariane 6.
There are still some additional tests planned before the first launch. Another upper stage test is scheduled for Dec. 7 in Germany to test its performance in “degraded” conditions. A fueling test…
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