Preparing the P120C solid rocket motor

The nozzle is attached to the P120C full-scale model solid rocket motor for Ariane 6 and Vega-C.

The large P120C solid-propellant motor is almost 11.5 m long and about 3.4 m in diameter and was built in just one segment. Two or four of these motors will be strapped to Ariane 6 as boosters for liftoff.

Vega-C will use the P120C as its first-stage motor to increase performance from Vega’s current 1.5 t to about 2.2 t in a reference 700 km polar orbit.