Last straight line for the construction of the first Ariane 6

2023-06-15 17:21:06

An Ariane 6 launcher displayed at the entrance to the 73rd International Astronautical Congress, at the Palais des Congrès in Paris, September 18, 2022. EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP

The main body of the launcher is nearing the end of assembly in the new ArianeGroup plant in Les Mureaux, near Paris.

The pressure is maximum on space Europe to succeed the first flight of Ariane 6, scheduled for the end of 2023 in Kourou. After the last Ariane 5 flight scheduled for Friday June 16, Europe will find itself without a rocket for at least six months, a situation unseen for several decades. «The pressure is very strong, it is essential to fly soon and our teams are doing their best to arrive as soon as possible on a flight date.»said Martin Sion, the executive chairman of ArianeGroup, in Les Mureaux, in the west of the Paris region, on the site where the new rocket is assembled.

This declaration was made after a meeting of the “task force” which very regularly brings together the four major program managers in order to take stock of the progress of the work before the first flight. In attendance were Martin Sion, CEO of ArianeGroup, as industrial prime contractor; Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA)…

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