N° 55–2023: Media invitation: Updates on Ariane 6 task force meeting

Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General will outline the progress achieved after the successful hot firing test on 23 November 2023 at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, as well as the upcoming steps in the Ariane 6 development test campaign, including the tentative launch period for Ariane 6 together with:

• Martin Sion, CEO, ArianeGroup.
• Philippe Baptiste, President, CNES.
• Stéphane Israël, CEO, Arianespace

Also present will be senior experts such as

Toni Tolker-Nielsen, Director of Space Transportation, ESA.

On 23 November 2023, Europe’s new Ariane 6 rocket went through a successful full-scale rehearsal in preparation for its inaugural flight, when teams from ArianeGroup, France’s space agency CNES, and ESA on the ground completed a launch countdown rehearsal. The test included the ignition of the core stage Vulcain 2.1 engine, followed by seven-minute full firing of the core stage’s engine, as it would function on a launch into space.

Ariane 6 Launcher Task Force

The Ariane 6 Launcher Task Force consists of top management at ESA, the overall Ariane 6 procuring entity and launch system architect, launch base prime contractor CNES, launcher system prime contractor ArianeGroup and launch service provider Arianespace. This group reports regularly on progress being made towards the inaugural flight of the new Ariane 6 launcher.

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. On-going 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.

Media Accreditation

The media briefing will be followed by a question-and-answer session.

Media representatives are invited to register to attend either on site at ESA HQ, or remotely, at the following link: https://blogs.esa.int/forms/esa-media-briefing-form the latest by 28 November, Tuesday at 17:00 CET. Registered media to attend the media briefing remotely will receive the link to join the interactive online session shortly before the briefing (WebEx platform). 

The press conference will also be streamed at esawebtv.esa.int, but only registered media will be able to ask questions within the WebEx system.

Contact

For further information and for interview requests, please contact media@esa.int

Bernhard Von Weyhe  Bernhard.von.Weyhe@esa.int / Camille Bello Camille.Bello@ext.esa.int

Further information

ESA - Watch the replay of the Ariane 6 eight-minute hot-fire test

More information about Ariane 6

Images

ESA – Ariane 6

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

Terms and conditions for using ESA images:
www.esa.int/spaceinimages/ESA_Multimedia/Copyright_Notice_Images

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

Videos

https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation/Ariane/(archive)/0/(type)/video

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

Terms and conditions for using ESA videos:
https://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Terms_and_Conditions

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

Social media

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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

For further information:
ESA Newsroom and Media Relations Office

Email: media@esa.int