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Artist's view of Ariane 6 upper stage as it circles Earth still with the passengers for the first flight of Europe's rocket.
Ariane 6 is the latest in the Ariane rocket series, taking over from Ariane 5 with a design that will launch massive missions to low-Earth orbit and shoot intrepid explorers far, far out to deep space.
Ariane 6 has a modular structure consisting of three main portions stacked on top of each other: a main stage with either two or four boosters, an upper (orbital) stage and the payload in its fairing.
Once the main stage has done its job it separates from the upper stage and reenters Earth's atmosphere, to splash down in the ocean. The upper stage is now responsible for orbiting the payload, powered by the all-new restartable Vinci engine, fuelled by 30 tonnes of cryogenically cooled liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.
A crucial part of the upper stage is the Auxiliary Propulsion Unit – a small system that plays a vital role by pressurising the fuel tanks during flight and providing additional thrust on demand.
The upper stage will be able to fire up to four times, dropping off multiple passengers into different orbits on the same flight and then deorbiting itself through Earth’s atmosphere at the end of its mission, to ensure it does not become space debris.