N° 8–2024: Call for interest: Ariane 6 launch media events at Europe’s Spaceport

ESA and its Ariane 6 partners – CNES, ArianeGroup and Arianespace – are planning a wide range of media activities ahead of, and for, the first flight of Ariane 6 including launch media events in Darmstadt, Germany, and in Paris, France.

This call for interest only relates to those activities taking place at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, to ensure that media accreditation is completed in time for the visits, and to establish reserve lists for both programmes in the event of cancellations.

Ariane 6 media events in French Guiana

The two programmes proposed are:

• A pre-launch media visit to Kourou to witness the transfer of the central core of Ariane 6 to the launchpad and its verticalisation. This three-day programme will also allow journalists to visit Europe's Spaceport and conduct interviews with the teams working tirelessly behind the scenes to prepare for the launch. The visit is expected to take place in April-May 2024 (date to be confirmed to the group selected at a later stage).
• A launch media visit to Kourou to cover the inaugural flight of Europe’s next-generation launcher. This four to five-day programme will allow journalists to conduct interviews with the Ariane 6 teams and VIP guests a day before and right after launch. They will also be able to report live from Kourou as Ariane 6 takes off for the first time. The first launch of Ariane 6 is expected to take place between mid-June and end of July 2024.

Spokespersons and experts from ESA and its Ariane 6 partners - CNES, ArianeGroup and Arianespace, will be available on site for interviews for both media programmes.

Please note that b-roll material and a clean feed of the launch will be available to media.

For those on site, the option of a satellite media tour, where a block of time is put aside to broadcast live on satellite and/or stream on IP will be considered upon request.

Other upcoming Ariane 6 media events

ESA will also offer interview opportunities in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish in the weeks leading up to launch. Journalists will also be invited to join online press briefings in English, French and German approximately 10 days before the launch.

In addition, media will be given the opportunity to attend launch media events in Darmstadt, Germany, and in Paris, France.

Media accreditation for all these opportunities will open later this year.

Registration

Please express your interest in attending either or both media programmes in French Guiana by Friday 1 March at 12:00 CET by selecting and completing the relevant form at https://blogs.esa.int/forms/esa-media-briefing-form. Please make sure you mention in the comments section which programme you would like to attend.

Please note:

• ESA will recommend flight dates and accommodation options to confirmed participants to facilitate the trip;
• because the number of places is very limited, ESA cannot guarantee all interested media will be able to join this visit. For this reason, the Agency will also establish reserve lists for both events in case of cancellations.
• accreditation formalities to access the Europe’s Spaceport will have to be completed immediately after confirmation of participation;
• yellow fever vaccination is compulsory to enter French Guiana (this will be checked at the airport).

About Ariane 6

Ariane 6 is an all-new design, created to succeed Ariane 5 as Europe's heavy-lift launch system. With Ariane 6's upper stage restart capability, Europe's launch capability will be tailored to the needs of multiple payload missions, for example to orbit satellite constellations. This autonomous capability to reach Earth orbit and deep space supports Europe's navigation, Earth observation, scientific and security programmes. Ongoing development of Europe's space transportation capabilities is made possible by the sustained dedication of thousands of talented people working in ESA's 22 Member States.

Contacts

ESA: Adelina Campos de Carvalho adelina.campos@esa.int; media@esa.int

CNES: Raphael Sart raphael.sart@cnes.fr

ArianeGroup: Astrid Emerit astrid.emerit@ariane.group

Arianespace: Martine Studer m.studer@arianespace.com

 

Further information

More information about Ariane 6

 

Images and Videos

ESA – Ariane 6 images

ESA – Ariane 6 videos

ESA's Photo Library for Professionals: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images

ESA's Video Library for Professionals: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos

Terms and conditions for using ESA images and videos:
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Terms_and_conditions_of_use_of_images_and_videos_available_on_the_esa_website

For questions or more information related to ESA images, please contact directly spaceinimages@esa.int.

For questions or more information related to ESA videos, please contact directly spaceinvideos@esa.int.

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About the European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space.

ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

ESA has 22 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia are Associate Members.

ESA has established formal cooperation with four Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.

By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.

Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int