The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
Go to topicThank you for liking
You have already liked this page, you can only like it once!
As well as CubeSats and reentry capsules, Ariane 6 will launch four onboard experiments that will carry out their research during the rocket’s flight, ending their mission as the rocket does. LIFI is one of them, a new technology experiment from French company Oledcomm, a spinoff from Paris-Saclay University.
The 40 x 60 x 16 mm LIFI experiment consists of two ‘SatelLiFe’ modules 80 cm apart, fitted under the rocket's fairing, which will communicate via Li-Fi. On detection of lift-off, they will exchange data with each other, enabling the team to study the communication performance and ensure the system is robust to withstand the rigours of launch.
The LIFI experiment could simplify the process of integrating payloads onto Ariane 6 as, in the future, Li-Fi technology could be used to communicate between rocket parts instead of cables, lessening the mass onboard and therefore the amount of fuel needed, potentially having an impact on the associated carbon footprint.