Ariane 6 on board Canopée

Canopée ship at sea.

The Ariane 6 launcher elements are manufactured in mainland Europe and then transported by a novel ship called Canopée (canopy in French) to Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana. The ship is the first custom-built transporter to use sails, reducing emissions and saving on fuel by up to 30%.

The next-generation cargo ship has been designed for ArianeGroup to meet the complex requirements of Ariane 6 transport – the stages and engines of Ariane 6 are high-tech equipment that require care during transport.

The hybrid-propulsion vessel is 121 m long and has 37 m tall sails. Canopée will rotate continuously between five ports of call to load Ariane 6 stages and sub-assemblies together and ship them across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe’s spaceport.

Collecting the upper stage from Bremen, Germany, Canopée stops over at Rotterdam, The Netherlands, to load the rocket’s fairing that protect its satellites during launch, before moving on to Le Havre, France, to load the core stage for Ariane 6. The last stop before the Atlantic crossing is the port of Bordeaux, France, collecting solid propulsion elements.

The 10-day transatlantic crossing ends in the port of Pariacabo, Kourou, in French Guiana. Canopée’s structure is tailored to carry large, fragile loads as well as navigate the shallow Kourou river to Pariacabo harbour. From here the various Ariane 6 components are offloaded and transported by road to the new Ariane 6 launch vehicle assembly building just a few kilometres away. Here, the launcher stages are unpacked and installed on the assembly line for integration and then launch.