On April 12, the European Ariane 6 rocket underwent the last hot fire test of its upper stage. ArianeGroup announced that the test was carried out at the German Aerospace Center DLR P5.2 test stand in Lampoldshausen. Now, only the preparations for the first operational rocket need to be completed ahead of the maiden liftoff, scheduled for next summer.
This final test follows the latest one conducted in December, scrubbed two minutes after ignition. Neither ArianeGroup nor ESA have ever reported details about the investigation. However, with this latest test, the teams have likely resolved the remaining issues.
The hot fire test aimed at demonstrating the performance of the upper stage under extreme, non-nominal conditions. In particular, the Auxiliary Propulsion Unit (APU) was ignited three times, for a total duration of 66 minutes. In addition, DLR and ArianeGroup teams conducted a test sequence profile that, included loading the stage tanks and preparing them for launch.
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Towards the launch
After many delays, the future European heavy-lift rocket seems finally ready to take flight. Over the past year, many important tests have been conducted between the launch pad in French Guiana and Lampoldshausen in Germany. Now, all the main components of the first Ariane 6 are ready to be assembled and prepared for the launch.
On Feb. 21, after a long transatlantic travel, the central core components arrived in French Guiana, on board ArianeGroup’s Canopée cargo ship. Moreover, on March 13, the Ariane 6 test model was completely dismantled after a year of key qualification tests. Almost simultaneously, the first booster was integrated at the booster finishing facility and moved to the launch integration building.
One month ago the upper and main stage have finally been connected to form the central core for the first flight. According to the official work schedule, later this month the central core will be lifted vertically on the pad. The payloads for the maiden liftoff should arrive in Kourou in May for integration. ESA, CNES, and ArianeGroup are currently targeting the launch between June 15 and July.
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The rocket
Ariane 6, the latest of the Ariane rocket family, is the future European medium-heavy launch vehicle. Designed to replace the retired Ariane 5, it suffered several delays, leaving Europe without its main asset during a tricky period.
The two-stage rocket can carry up to 20,600 kg to LEO and 11,500 kg to GEO in its heaviest configuration. Depending on the version the vehicle is equipped with two (A62) or four (A64) P120C solid boosters. They have already been used in the first stage of Avio’s Vega C.
The first stage is powered by a LOX/LH2 Vulcain 2.1 engine, derived from Ariane 5’s Vulcain 2. The upper stage is powered by the reignitable Vinci engine. Alongside the APU, it ensures a certain flexibility to Ariane 6, which will be able to launch rideshare missions and LEO constellations.
