During the ILA Berlin Air Show, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher announced that the first launch of Ariane 6 is scheduled for July 9, 2024, from the European Spaceport in French Guiana.
Josef Aschbacher was joined on stage by the partners of the Ariane 6 launcher working group: ArianeGroup CEO Martin Sion, CNES CEO Philippe Baptiste, and Arianespace CEO Stéphane Israël, during the announcement of this significant milestone. Walther Pelzer, Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR, was also present for the occasion.
Ariane 6 is the new European heavy launcher, succeeding its predecessor, Ariane 5. Modular and versatile, Ariane 6 features a reignitable upper stage that allows it to carry out multiple missions to different orbits in a single flight.
Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General, stated: "
Ariane 6 marks a new era of autonomous and versatile space travel for Europe. This powerful launcher is the culmination of many years of determination and ingenuity from thousands of people across Europe, and its launch will re-establish Europe's independent access to space. I am pleased to announce that the inaugural launch attempt will take place on July 9. I want to thank the teams on the ground for their tireless work, team spirit, and unwavering determination in this final phase of the launch campaign. Ariane 6 is the European launcher that meets our needs today, adapted to our future ambitions."
In the development of Ariane 6, ESA serves as the architect of the launch system; it collaborates with the lead contractor ArianeGroup for launcher development and with CNES for ground segment development. ESA is the operator responsible for the inaugural flight. For subsequent flights, Arianespace will be the launch service provider, commercializing and operating the Ariane 6 launcher to deliver a variety of missions to orbit for institutional and commercial customers.
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With the announcement of the planned date for Ariane 6's maiden flight, we enter the final stretch of the launch campaign. Our commitment is total to complete the final steps. This flight will mark the culmination of years of development and testing carried out by the ArianeGroup teams and their partners throughout Europe. It will pave the way for commercial operations and a significant ramp-up over the next two years. With Ariane 6, a high-performance, versatile, and scalable launcher, Europe will benefit from autonomous access to space," declared Martin Sion, CEO of ArianeGroup.
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Once again, the announcement of the inaugural flight date of Ariane 6 from the Guiana Space Centre is a crucial milestone in ensuring European sovereignty in access to space. Reaching this date has been possible thanks to the tremendous work done by all stakeholders in the final stretch. I would like to once again salute this collective achievement of overcoming obstacles over the months. Now, we move on to the final adjustments before the launch. Imminent takeoff for European space: we're all united behind Ariane 6!" exclaimed Philippe Baptiste, CEO of CNES.
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With 30 missions on the books, Ariane 6 has already earned the trust of its institutional and commercial clients. We are preparing to carry out the second launch of Ariane 6 by the end of the year, and then ramp up to aim for about ten launches per year at cruising speed. It's a magnificent challenge to take on with our partners." added Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace.
At the European Spaceport in French Guiana, many varied payloads have been integrated onto Ariane 6's payload adapter. The final major step before the launch will be the general rehearsal. Once this activity is completed, the Ariane 6 launcher working group will release a new status update on the inaugural flight.