DECRYPTION – Ariane 6’s controversial choice of versatility when the program was launched at the end of 2014 has finally paid off.
With the Kuiper contract, the Ariane 6 rocket begins its commercial career in spectacular fashion. And silence the critics. “It demonstrates that it is perfectly adapted to the needs of the commercial market, in particular the deployment of large constellations, and that it is competitive”, summarizes Philippe Batiste, president of Cnes.
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The assumed choice of the versatility of Ariane 6 when the program was launched at the end of 2014 is paying off. “From the outset, Europe considered that it would need, in order to ensure its independent access to space and to balance the exploitation of Ariane 6, the most modular, the most flexible and the as scalable as possible, because no one knew how the market, which was in full transformation, was going to evolve”, recalls Franck Huiban, director of civil programs for Ariane Group, the manufacturer of the rocket. In 2014, the shock wave caused by SpaceX and the Falcon 9 begins to spread. Elon Musk shakes up all markets: satellite launches…
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