Ariane 6 central core assembly complete
The central core of a test model of ESA’s new Ariane 6 heavy lift rocket has been assembled for the first time in the purpose-built Launcher Assembly Building at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
Ariane 6 core and upper stages were mechanically and electrically integrated to form the central core by teams from prime contractor ArianeGroup.
Next, the core assembly will be transferred to the Ariane 6 mobile gantry and lifted it into a vertical position. Then, with the central core in place and connected to its launch pad, a series of tests will be carried out to ensure that the combined system is ready to receive a flight model of the vehicle.
These combined tests will be carried out under the responsibility of ESA and executed by an integrated ESA-ArianeGroup-CNES team.
Ariane 6 is a modular launch vehicle using either two or four P120C strap-on boosters, depending on mission requirements. The reignitable Vinci engine which powers the upper stage allows Ariane 6 to deliver multiple payloads to different orbits on a single launch. After payload separation a final engine burn deorbits the upper stage so that it does not become a debris threat in space.
Ariane 6 is a project-managed and funded by ESA. ArianeGroup is design authority and industrial prime contractor for the launcher system and CNES is prime contractor for the Ariane 6 launch base at Europe’s Spaceport. Arianespace is the launch service provider of Ariane 6.
