Tag: Ariane
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Ariane 6 launches the Sentinel-1D Earth observation satellite
Arianespace, Europe’s long-standing primary launch provider, flew the Sentinel-1D Earth observation satellite aboard the third Ariane 6 launch of 2025. The flight, only the fourth ever flown by the Ariane 6, successfully launched on Tuesday, Nov. 4, at 21:02 UTC from ELA-4 at the Centre Spatial Guyanais in Kourou, French Guiana. All Ariane 6 flights…
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ESA sets launch date for Ariane 6 for summer of 2024
The long-awaited maiden flight of Ariane 6 is scheduled to take place between June 15 and July 31, 2024, European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Josef Aschbacher announced at a press conference on Thursday. This followed a successful hot-fire test of the Vulcain 2.1 core stage engine of the new European launcher on its launch…
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Summit cites Paradigm Shift for European Spaceflight
The ESA-EU Space Summit at Seville/Spain on November 6/7 focused on the need to evolve the future of the European Space Agency (ESA) and European spaceflight in general. Europe’s space ambitions are moving into a “paradigm shift,” as noted by Josef Aschbacher, Director General of ESA, as Europe deals with a gap in capability between…
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Ariane 6 debut slips to end of 2023, teams prep for Combined Test
The debut of Europe’s new heavy-lift launcher, Ariane 6, has slipped once again, this time to a no-earlier-than target of the “last quarter of 2023.” News of the delay came from ESA, CNES, ArianeGroup, and Arianespace officials during an Oct. 19 media briefing, though officials declined to define what caused the most recent multi-month delay…
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Ariane 5 launches advanced broadband satellite for Eutelsat
Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket returned to action on September 7, deploying a high-power communications satellite for French operator Eutelsat. Liftoff from the Centre Spatial Guyanais in Kourou, French Guiana occurred on time at 6:45 PM local time (21:45 UTC) at the opening of an 86-minute launch window. Wednesday’s launch deployed Eutelsat Konnect VHTS — or…
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Arianespace discusses Ariane 5 fly-out requirements, launcher’s legacy to Ariane 6 and beyond
Arianespace and their European partners are looking toward the final five flights of the veteran Ariane 5 rocket that has been a staple of the European launch community since the end-1990s. At present, the rocket has four dual-passenger flights to geostationary transfer orbit on the manifest in 2022 before its grand finale in 2023: the…
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Themis tanking test marks milestone in ESA’s path to reusability
The ESA (European Space Agency) has taken a major step towards developing reusable rockets with the completion of a series of tanking tests for its Themis vehicle, which will serve as a testbed for the agency to experiment with launch and landing operations. After initially announcing plans for a reusable rocket – Ariane Next –…
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Ariane 6 undergoing preparations for its 2022 debut
ArianeGroup and the European Space Agency are carrying out preparations for the maiden launch of the Ariane 6 rocket next year. Ariane 6 represents the next generation of the Ariane family of rockets, intended to allow its customers lower-cost access to space. The rocket and launch pad still have an extensive test program ahead of…