Tag: Ariane 6
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Launch providers announce rideshare missions large and small
Artist’s illustration of a Falcon 9 rocket’s upper stage. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX and Arianespace recently announced plans to launch rideshare missions to sun-synchronous and geostationary orbit, dedicating big rocket capacity for small satellites as the U.S.-based launch broker Spaceflight committed to using a new Indian microsatellite launcher set to debut later this year. The announcements…
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European space mission to get close-up view of new comet
This view of Comet C/2012 S1, or ISON, was captured in November 2013 by the TRAPPIST–South telescope at the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla facility in Chile. Comet ISON was a dynamically new comet that likely began its journey to the inner solar system from the Oort Cloud, spherical shell of icy objects located between…
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ESA books launch of Jupiter orbiter with Arianespace
Artist’s illustration of the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or JUICE, spacecraft during a flyby of Jupiter’s moon Europa. Credit: ESA The European Space Agency has reserved an Ariane launcher to send a spacecraft toward Jupiter in May 2022, and the mission’s project manager said Tuesday officials could assign the probe to Europe’s new Ariane 6…
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Viasat swaps Ariane 5 launch for new Ariane 6 rocket
Artist’s concept of an Ariane 64 rocket, the Ariane 6 configuration with four strap-on solid rocket boosters. Credit: ArianeGroup Viasat has modified an existing contract with Arianespace to launch one of the company’s next-generation broadband Internet satellites on Europe’s next-generation Ariane 6 rocket, rather than on-board an Ariane 5 launcher, officials announced Monday. The agreement…
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Ariane 6 wins OneWeb launch contract – will ride on maiden flight
Arianespace’s new rocket, the Ariane 6, will make her maiden flight with OneWeb satellites onboard, following a contract announcement on Tuesday. The contract, which includes options for future Ariane 6 launches, will open with the qualification launch of the Ariane 62 version in the latter part of 2020. The Ariane 6 will be an evolution…
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OneWeb announced as customer for inaugural Ariane 6 launch
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated March 7 to correct OneWeb Satellites factory details. Artist’s illustration of an Ariane 6 rocket launching a constellation of small satellites. Credit: ArianeGroup Arianespace has announced OneWeb, the broadband Internet provider seeking to deploy more than 600 satellites into low Earth orbit, as the launch customer for the inaugural flight of the new Ariane…
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Successful P120C test another milestone towards Arianespace’s new rockets
ArianeGroup has successfully test-fired its second P120C solid rocket motor, a step forward toward initial launches of the Vega-C light satellite launcher late this year and the Ariane 6 heavy satellite launcher in 2020, the launcher that will ultimately replace the long-serving and successful Ariane 5 launch vehicle. The P120C, equipped to gather data on…
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Arianespace signs Eutelsat as first commercial customer for new Ariane 6 rocket
Artist’s concept of an Ariane 6 rocket, in a configuration with four strap-on solid rocket boosters. Credit: ESA Eutelsat is the first commercial company to commit to launching on Europe’s new Ariane 6 rocket, under a five-launch agreement announced Monday in conjunction with fresh contracts for Arianespace to haul a French spy satellite and a…
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Powerful new European solid-fueled rocket motor aces first test-firing
European engineers test-fired the world’s most powerful present-day single-segment solid rocket booster Monday in French Guiana, clearing a major development hurdle for the Vega-C and Ariane 6 launchers set for debuts in 2019 and 2020. Mounted on a test stand over a flame trench carved out of bedrock at the European-run spaceport in South America,…
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Arianespace procures first batch of upgraded Vega-C rockets, preps for last Ariane 5 order
This artist’s illustration shows the lineup of European rockets currently flying or scheduled to debut in the next few years. From left to right: Vega, Vega-C, Ariane 5 ECA, Ariane 62 and Ariane 64. Credit: ESA–David Ducros, Jacky Huart, 2016 Arianespace has split its third order of Vega rockets from Italy’s Avio between old and…