{"id":57140,"date":"2021-07-13T17:40:48","date_gmt":"2021-07-13T09:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/ariane-6-rocket-gets-a-new-add-on-engine-for-multi-orbit-deployment-deep-space-exploration\/"},"modified":"2021-07-13T17:40:48","modified_gmt":"2021-07-13T09:40:48","slug":"ariane-6-rocket-gets-a-new-add-on-engine-for-multi-orbit-deployment-deep-space-exploration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/ariane-6-rocket-gets-a-new-add-on-engine-for-multi-orbit-deployment-deep-space-exploration\/","title":{"rendered":"Ariane 6 Rocket Gets a New Add-on Engine for Multi-Orbit Deployment, Deep Space Exploration"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>European Space Agency (ESA)<\/strong> is investing approximately 90 million euros ($106 million) into a developmental contract with <strong>ArianeGroup<\/strong> that will give its Ariane 6 rocket a new kick stage. The kick stage, called \u2018Astris,\u2019 will allow Ariane 6 to perform complex orbital transfers in multiple orbits, including Low-Earth Orbit (LEO), and support deep space exploration missions for Europe.<\/p>\n<p>ArianeGroup\u2019s facilities in Germany will take on a majority of work on Astris\u2019 development and design. The new kick stage can be mounted as an optional add-on to Ariane 6\u2019s upper stage. Astris and its propellant tanks will be based on a modular architecture that can be configured to a wider set of payload needs. The kick stage can also interface directly with the Ariane 6 rocket\u2019s payload.<\/p>\n<p>ESA said Astris will simplify Arianespace launch missions by taking over required built-in propulsion capabilities and helping move payloads to their final position in orbit. The agency added that Astris could support Ariane 6 as a deep space exploration vehicle for ridesharing payloads with destinations such as asteroids, the Moon and Mars. Astris is scheduled to make its first appearance in mid 2024 on a launch that will send Europe\u2019s planetary defense Hera spacecraft to the Didymos asteroid system.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[Astris] is an important element to enable flexible in-space transportation services, such as space logistics, in-orbit servicing and specific exploration missions,\u201d said ESA Director of Space Transportation Daniel Neuenschwander.<\/p>\n<p>Astris\u2019 engine \u2014 a mid-size storable propellant propulsion system called Berta \u2014 is in development and qualification at ArianeGroup\u2019s facility in Ottobrunn, Germany.<\/p>\n<p>The Ariane 6 rocket itself is also currently under development with plans for a debut launch in late 2022. Once active, it will take over for <strong>Arianespace\u2019s<\/strong> legendary Ariane 5 rocket as Europe\u2019s new primary expendable launch vehicle. Ariane 6 was originally scheduled to debut in 2020, but was delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>French satellite operator <strong>Eutelsat<\/strong> signed up to be Arianespace\u2019s first commercial customer for the Ariane 6 rocket back in September 2018. That agreement covers five Ariane 6 launches for Eutelsat running through 2027.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The European Space Agency (ESA) is investing approximately 90 million euros ($106 million) into a developmental contract with ArianeGroup that will give its Ariane 6 rocket a new kick stage. The kick stage, called \u2018Astris,\u2019 will allow Ariane 6 to perform complex orbital transfers in multiple orbits, including Low-Earth Orbit (LEO), and support deep space [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57141,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57140"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57140\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}