Ariane 6

Ariane 6 is an expendable launch system developed and manufactured by ArianeGroup under the authority of the European Space Agency (ESA), with a first test flight scheduled for 2021.[6] When development is completed, it will become the newest member in the Ariane launch vehicle family. The final design was selected in December 2014,[7] favoring a liquid-fuelled core with large solid rocket boosters over the initial solid-fuel rocket design.[8] The motivation for Ariane 6 development was to replace Ariane 5 at half the cost, and allow double the number of launches each year.

Ariane 6
Illustration of the two Ariane 6 variants planned, A62 (left) and A64 (right)
FunctionMedium-heavy launch vehicle
ManufacturerArianeGroup
Country of originEuropean Space Agency
Project cost€3.6 billion [1]
Cost per launch€75 million (Ariane 62)
€115 million (Ariane 64)[2][3]
Cost per year2014
Size
Height63 metres (207 ft)
Diameter5.4 metres (18 ft)
Mass530,000–860,000 kilograms (1,170,000–1,900,000 lb)
Stages2
Capacity
Payload to GTOA64: 11,500 kg (25,400 lb)
A62: 5,000 kg (11,000 lb)[4]:33
Payload to GEOA64: 5,000 kg (11,000 lb)[4]:40
Payload to SSOA64: 14,900 kg (32,800 lb)
A62: 6,450 kg (14,220 lb)[4]:42
Payload to LEOA64: 21,650 kg (47,730 lb)
A62: 10,350 kg (22,820 lb)[4]:45–46
Associated rockets
FamilyAriane
ComparableVulcan, H3, Titan IV, Falcon 9
Launch history
StatusIn Development
Launch sitesCentre Spatial Guyanais
First flightQ3 2021[5]
Boosters – Equipped Solid Rocket
No. boosters2 or 4
Diameter3 m (9.8 ft)
Propellant mass142,000 kg (313,000 lb)
MotorP120
Thrust4,500 kilonewtons (1,000,000 lbf)
Core stage – Lower Liquid Propulsion Module
Diameter5.4 metres (18 ft)
Propellant mass140,000 kg (310,000 lb)
EnginesVulcain 2.1
Thrust1,370 kilonewtons (310,000 lbf)
FuelLH2 / LOX
Upper stage – Upper Liquid Propulsion Module
Diameter5.4 metres (18 ft)
Propellant mass31,000 kg (68,000 lb)
EnginesVinci
Thrust180 kilonewtons (40,000 lbf)
FuelLH2 / LOX

Description

Two variants of Ariane 6 are being developed:

  • Ariane 62, with two P120 solid boosters, will weigh around 530 tonnes (1,170,000 lb) at liftoff and is intended mainly for government and scientific missions.[9] It can launch up to 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) into GTO[4]:33 and 10,350 kg (22,820 lb) into LEO.[4]:45
  • Ariane 64, with four P120 boosters, has a liftoff weight of around 860 tonnes (1,900,000 lb)[10] and is intended for commercial dual-satellite launches[9] of up to 11,500 kilograms (25,400 lb) into GTO[4]:33 and 21,500 kg (47,400 lb) into LEO.[4]:46 Like Ariane 5, it will be able to launch two geosynchronous satellites together.

Ariane 6 comprises three major structural and propellant-carrying components.

Lower Liquid Propulsion Module

The first stage of Ariane 6 is called the Lower Liquid Propulsion Module (LLPM). It is powered by a single Vulcain 2.1 engine, burning liquid hydrogen (LH2) with liquid oxygen (LOX).[11] Vulcain 2.1 is an updated version of the Vulcain 2 engine from Ariane 5 with lower manufacturing costs. The LLPM is 5.4 metres (18 ft) in diameter and contains approximately 140 tonnes of propellant.[12]

Solid Rockets

Additional thrust for the first stage will be provided by either two or four P120 Solid rocket boosters, known within Ariane 6 nomenclature as Equipped Solid Rockets (ESR).[11] Each booster contains approximately 142 tonnes of propellant and delivers up to 4,500 kN (1,000,000 lbf) of thrust. The P120 motor is also first stage of the upgraded Vega C smallsat launcher. The increased production volumes through sharing motors lowers production costs.[13]

The first full-scale test of the ESR occurred at Kourou on 16 July 2018, and the test completed successfully with the thrust reaching 4,615 kN (1,037,000 lbf) in vacuum.[14][15][16]

Upper Liquid Propulsion Module

The upper stage of Ariane 6 is called the Upper Liquid Propulsion Module (ULPM). It features the same 5.4 metres (18 ft) diameter as the LLPM, and also burns liquid hydrogen with oxygen. It is powered by the Vinci engine delivering 180 kN (40,000 lbf) of thrust and enabling multiple restarts.[11] The ULPM will carry about 31 tonnes of propellant.[13]

History

Ariane 6 was initially conceived in the early 2010s as a replacement launch vehicle for Ariane 5, and a number of concepts and high-level designs were suggested and proposed during 2012–2015. Funding from several European governments was secured by early 2016, and contracts were signed to begin detailed design and the build of test articles. While in 2019, the maiden orbital flight had been planned for 2020,[17] by May 2020, the planned initial launch date had been delayed until 2021.[6]

Concept and early development: 2010–2015
Ariane 6 PPH cutaway drawing

Following detailed definition studies in 2012,[18] the European Space Agency (ESA) announced the selection of the "PPH" (first stage of three P145 rocket motors, second stage of one P145 rocket motor, and H32 cryogenic upper stage) configuration for the Ariane 6 in July 2013. [19] It would be capable of launching up to 6,500 kilograms (14,300 lb) to GTO,[20] with a first flight projected to be as early as 2021–2022.[21] Development was projected to cost €4 billion as of May 2013.[22] A 2014 study concluded that development cost could be reduced to about 3 billion euros by limiting contractors to five countries.[23]

While the Ariane 5 typically launches one large and one medium satellite at a time, the PPH proposal for the Ariane 6 was intended for single payloads, with an early - 2014 price estimate of approximately US$95 million per launch.[24] The SpaceX Falcon 9 and the Chinese Long March 3B both launch smaller payloads but at lower prices, approximately US$57 million and US$72 million respectively as of early 2014, making the Falcon 9 launch of a midsize satellite competitive with the cost of the lower slot of a dual payload Ariane 5.[24] For lightweight all-electric satellites, Arianespace intended to use the restartable Vinci engine to deliver the satellites closer to their operational orbit than the Falcon 9 could, thus reducing the time required to transfer to geostationary orbit by several months.[24]

Ariane 6.1 and Ariane 6.2 proposals

In June 2014, Airbus and Safran surprised ESA by announcing a counter proposal for the Ariane 6 project: a 50/50 joint venture to develop the rocket, which would also involve buying out the French government's CNES interest in Arianespace.[25][26]

This proposed launch system would come in two variants, Ariane 6.1 and Ariane 6.2.[27] While both would use a cryogenic main stage powered by a Vulcain 2 engine and two P145 solid boosters, Ariane 6.1 would feature a cryogenic upper stage powered by the Vinci engine and boost up to 8,500 kilograms (18,700 lb) to GTO, while Ariane 6.2 would use a lower-cost hypergolic upper stage powered by the Aestus engine. Ariane 6.1 would have the ability to launch two electrically powered satellites at once, while Ariane 6.2 would be focused on launching government payloads.

French newspaper La Tribune questioned whether Airbus Space Systems could deliver on the promised costs for their Ariane 6 proposal, and whether Airbus and Safran Group could be trusted when they were found to be responsible for a failure of Ariane 5 flight 517 in 2002 and a more recent 2013 failure of the M51 ballistic missile.[8] The companies were also criticised for being unwilling to incur development risks, and asking for higher initial funding than originally planned - €2.6 billion instead of €2.3 billion. Estimated launch prices of €85 million for Ariane 6.1 and €69 million for Ariane 6.2 did not compare favorably to SpaceX offerings.[28] During the meeting of EU ministers in Geneva on 7 June 2014, these prices were deemed too high and no agreement with manufacturers was reached.[29]

Ariane 62 and Ariane 64 proposals
Originally proposed Ariane A62 and Ariane A64

Following criticism of the Ariane 6 PPH design, France unveiled a revised Ariane 6 proposal in September 2014.[30] This launcher would use a cryogenic main stage powered by the Vulcain 2 and upper stage powered by the Vinci, but vary the number of solid boosters. With two P120 boosters, Ariane 6 would launch up to 5,000 kilograms (11,000 lb) to GTO at a cost of €75 million. With four boosters, Ariane 6 would be able to launch two satellites totaling 11,000 kilograms (24,000 lb) to GTO at a cost of €90 million.[31]

This proposal, unlike Ariane 6 PPH, offered a scalable launcher while retaining Ariane 5's dual-launch capability. The proposal also included simplification of the industrial and institutional organisation along with a better and cheaper version of the Vulcain 2 engine for the main stage.[30][31] Although Ariane 6 was projected to have "lower estimated recurring production costs", it was projected to have "a higher overall development cost owing to the need for a new, Ariane 6-dedicated, launch pad".[32]

The Italian, French and German space ministers met on 23 September 2014, in order to plan strategy and assess the possibility for agreement on funding for the Ariane 5 successor,[33] and in December 2014, ESA selected the Ariane 62 and Ariane 64 designs for development and funding.[7]

Test vehicle development: 2016–2019

In November 2015, an updated design of Ariane 64 and 62 was presented, with new nose cones on the boosters, main stage diameter increased to 5.4 metres (18 ft) and the height decreased to 60 metres (200 ft).[34] The basic design was finalised in January 2016, advancing the development into detailed design and production phases, with the first major contracts already signed.[35][36] Unlike previous Ariane rockets which are assembled and fueled vertically before being transported to the launchpad, the Ariane 6 main stages will be assembled horizontally at the new integration hall in Les Mureaux and then transported to French Guiana, where they will be erected and integrated with boosters and payload.[37]

The horizontal assembly process was inspired by the Russian tradition for Soyuz and Proton launchers — which was more recently applied to the American Delta IV and Falcon 9 boosters[38] — with a stated goal of halving production costs.[39]

The industrial production process was completely overhauled, allowing synchronized workflow between several European production sites moving at a monthly cadence, which would enable twelve launches per year, doubling Ariane 5's yearly capacity.[37] To further lower the price, Ariane 6 engines will use 3D printed components.[40] Ariane 6 will be the first large rocket to use a laser ignition system developed by Austria's Carinthian Research Center (CTR), that was previously deployed in automotive and turbine engines.[41] A solid state laser offers an advantage over electrical ignition systems in that it is more flexible with regards to the location of the plasma within the combustion chamber, offers a much higher pulse power and can tolerate a wider range of fuel-air mixture ratios.[42]

Reorganisation of the industry behind a new launch vehicle, leading to a creation of Airbus Safran Launchers, also started a review by the French government, into tax matters, and the European Commission over a possible conflict of interest if Airbus Defence and Space, a satellite manufacturer were to purchase launches from ASL.[40]

Other development options

CNES began studies in 2010[43] on an alternative, reusable first stage for Ariane 6, using a mix of liquid oxygen and liquid methane rather than liquid hydrogen that is used in the 2016 Ariane 6 first-stage design. The methane-powered core could use one or more engines, matching capabilities of Ariane 64 with only two boosters instead of four. As of January 2015, the economic feasibility of reusing an entire stage remained in question. Concurrent with the liquid fly-back booster research in the late 1990s and early 2000s CNES along with Russia concluded studies indicating that reusing the first stage was economically unviable as manufacturing ten rockets a year was cheaper and more feasible than recovery, refurbishment and loss of performance caused by reusability.[44] It was suggested that with Arianespace launch schedule of 12 flights per year that an engine that could be reused a dozen times would produce a demand for only one engine per year making supporting an ongoing engine manufacturing supply chain unviable.

Main article: Adeline (rocket stage)

In June 2015, Airbus Defence and Space announced that development of Adeline, a partially reusable first stage, would become operational between 2025 and 2030, and that it would be developed as a subsequent first stage for Ariane 6. Rather than developing a way to reuse an entire first stage (like SpaceX), Airbus proposed a system where only high-value parts would be safely returned using a winged module at the bottom of the rocket stack.[43]

In August 2016, Airbus Safran Launchers gave some more details about future development plans building on the Ariane 6 design. CEO Alain Charmeau revealed that Airbus Safran were now working along two main lines: first, continuing work (at the company's own expense) on the recoverable Adeline engine-and-avionics module; and second, beginning development of a next-generation engine to be called Prometheus. This engine would have about the same thrust as the Vulcain 2 currently powering Ariane 5, but would burn methane instead of liquid hydrogen. Charmeau was non-committal about whether Prometheus (still only in the first few months of development) could be used as an expendable replacement for the Vulcain 2 in Ariane 6, or whether it was tied to the re-usable Adeline design, saying only that "We are cautious, and we prefer to speak when are sure of what we announce... But certainly this engine could very well fit with the first stage of Ariane 6 one day", a decision on whether to proceed with Prometheus in an expendable or reusable role could be taken between 2025-2030.[45] In 2017, the Prometheus engine project was revealed to have the aim of reducing the engine unit cost from the €10 M of the Vulcain2 to €1 M and allowing the engine to be reused up to five times.[46] The engine development is said to being part of a broader effort – codename Ariane NEXT[47] – to reduce Ariane launch costs by a factor of 2 beyond improvements brought by Ariane 6. The Ariane NEXT initiative includes a reusable sounding rocket, Callisto, to test the performance of various fuels in new engine designs.[48]

Production

In a January 2019 interview, Arianespace CEO Stéphane Israël said that the company requires four more institutional launches for Ariane 6 to sign a manufacturing contract. Launch contracts are needed for the transitional period of 2020–2023 when the Ariane 5 will be phased out and gradually replaced by the Ariane 6. The company requires European institutions to become an anchor customer for the launcher. In response, ESA representatives said the agency was working on shifting the 2022 launch of the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer from the Ariane 5 ECA to the Ariane 64, further indicating that there are other institutional customers in Europe that must put their weight behind the project, such as Eumetsat or European Commission.

As of January 2019, Arianespace had sold three flights of the Ariane 6 launch vehicle.[49] One month later, they added a satellite internet constellation launch contract with OneWeb to utilize the maiden launch of Ariane 6 to help populate the large 600-satellite constellation.[50]

On 6 May 2019, Arianespace ordered the first production batch of 14 Ariane 6 rockets, for missions to be conducted between 2021 and 2023.[51]

Development funding

Ariane 6 is being developed in a public-private partnership with the majority of the funding coming from various ESA government sources — €2.815 billion — while €400 million is reported to be "industry's share".[52]

The ESA ruling council approved the project moving forward on 3 November 2016, and the next and final step in funds being released is approval by the ESA Industrial Policy Council, expected 8 November 2016.[53] The funds release was approved.[54]

In January 2020, the European Investment Bank, in partnership with the EC, made a €100 million loan to Arianespace drawing from the Horizon 2020 and Investment Plan for Europe corporate investment programmes. The 10 year loan's repayment is tied to the financial success of the Ariane 6 project.[55]

Launch contracts and scheduled flights

The first Ariane 6 launch contract was signed on 25 June 2015: an option for three launches for the OneWeb satellite constellation.[56] OneWeb filed for bankruptcy and laid off most of their employees on 27 March 2020. Future Galileo satellite launches are booked on Ariane 6 starting in 2020.[57] On 11 September 2018, Arianespace announced a firm order by Eutelsat for five commercial communication satellites over several years, and the French CNES converted one of their three contracted launches for spy satellites from a Soyuz to an Ariane 6.[57]

gollark: I mean, I'm not sure if I'd trust children to actually be able to make permanent decisions about changing gender or something.
gollark: I mean, it does inasmuch as we measure those things relatively.
gollark: lots of places are much worse in some areas than the UK, but it doesn't make the UK particularly good.
gollark: The idea of birth certificates is vaguely weird. "Congratulations, you got born!"
gollark: So why do you even need to edit the birth certificate?

References
  1. "Media backgrounder for ESA Council at Ministerial Level" (Press release). ESA. 27 November 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  2. Rich, Smith. "Europe Complains: SpaceX Rocket Prices Are Too Cheap to Beat". The Motley Fool. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  3. Gallois, Dominique (1 December 2014). "Ariane 6, un chantier européen pour rester dans la course spatiale" [Ariane 6, a European site to remain in the space race] (in French). Le Monde. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  4. Lagier, Roland (March 2018). "Ariane 6 User's Manual Issue 1 Revision 0" (PDF). Arianespace. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  5. Henry, Caleb (9 July 2020). "ESA confirms Ariane 6 delay to 2021". SpaceNews. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  6. "Ariane 6 maiden flight likely slipping to 2021". SpaceNews. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  7. Peter B. De Selding (2 December 2014). "ESA Members Agree To Build Ariane 6, Fund Station Through 2017". SpaceNews. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  8. Michel Cabirol (7 July 2014). "Faut-il donner toutes les clés d'Ariane 6 a Airbus et Safran?" (in French). La Tribune. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  9. Amos, Jonathan (3 December 2014). "Europe to press ahead with Ariane 6 rocket". BBC News. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  10. "Ariane 6 - Ariane Group". ArianeGroup. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  11. "Who we are" (PDF). Arianespace. May 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  12. "Ariane 6". ESA. 23 January 2017. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  13. "Ariane 6". CNES. 2 December 2014. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  14. "Largest-ever solid rocket motor poised for first hot firing". SpaceDaily. 10 July 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  15. "Successful first test firing for the P120C solid rocket motor for Ariane6 and VegaC - Ariane Group". Ariane Group. Ariane Group. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  16. Bergin, Chris (16 July 2018). "Static Fire test for Europe's P120C rocket motor". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  17. "Ariane 6 series production begins with first batch of 14 launchers". Arianespace. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  18. Stephen Clark (21 November 2012). "European ministers decide to stick with Ariane 5, for now". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  19. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273068431_Ariane_6_PPH_Architecture_Critical_Analysis_Second_Iteration_Loop
  20. Feldman, Mia (11 July 2013). "European Space Agency Reveals New Rocket Design". IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  21. Amos, Jonathan (22 June 2017). "Full thrust on Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket". BBC News.
  22. de Selding, Peter B. (24 May 2013). "With Ariane 6 Launch Site Selected, CNES Aims To Freeze Design of the New Rocket in July". Space News. Retrieved 25 May 2013. Ariane 6 would fly in 2020 assuming a development go-ahead in 2014. CNES's Ariane 6 team is operating under the "triple-seven" mantra, meaning seven years' development, 7 metric tons of satellite payload to geostationary transfer orbit and 70 million euros in launch costs. CNES estimates that Ariane 6 would cost 4 billion euros to develop, including ESA's customary program management fees and a 20% margin that ESA embeds in most of its programs.
  23. Peter B. De Selding (18 March 2014). "Questions Swirl around Future of Europe's Ariane Launcher Program". SpaceNews. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  24. Svitak, Amy (10 March 2014). "SpaceX Says Falcon 9 To Compete For EELV This Year". Aviation Week. Retrieved 11 March 2014. As SpaceX and other launch contenders enter the sector—including new rockets in India, China and Russia — Europe is also investing in a midlife upgrade of Ariane 5, the Ariane 5 ME (Midterm Evolution), which aims to boost performance 20% with no corresponding increase in cost. At the same time, Europe is considering funding a smaller, less capable but more affordable successor to the heavy-lift launcher, the Ariane 6, which would send up to 6,500 kilograms (14,300 lb) to GTO for around US$95 million per launch.
  25. de Selding, Peter (20 June 2014). "Airbus and Safran Propose New Ariane 6 Design, Reorganisation of Europe's Rocket Industry". Space News. Retrieved 6 June 2015. European space-hardware builders Airbus and Safran have proposed that the French and European space agencies scrap much of their previous 18 months' work on a next-generation Ariane 6 rocket in favour of a design that includes much more liquid propulsion.
  26. Amos, Jonathan (5 July 2014). "Ariane 6: Customers call the shots". BBC. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  27. "Safran-Airbus Group launcher activities agreement". Safran Group. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  28. Cabirol, Michel (7 July 2014). "Privatisation d'Ariane 6 : comment Airbus et Safran négocient le "casse du siècle"" [Ariane 6 privatized: how Airbus and Safran negotiate the "heist of the century"]. La Tribune (in French). Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  29. Cyrille Vanlerberghe (8 July 2014). "Le choix d'Ariane 6 divise industriels et agences spatiales" (in French). Le Figaro. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  30. "France raises heat on decision for next Ariane rocket". EXPATICA. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  31. Cyrille Vanlerberghe (5 September 2014). "Ariane 6 : la version de la dernière chance" (in French). Le Figaro. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  32. de Selding, Peter B. (24 September 2014). "ESA's Ariane 6 Cost Estimate Rises with Addition of New Launch Pad". SpaceNews. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  33. "ISS Expected To Take Back Seat to Next-gen Ariane as Space Ministers Meet in Zurich". Space News. 22 September 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2015. The space ministers of France, Germany and Italy are scheduled to meet September 23 in Zurich to assess how far they are from agreement on strategy and funding for Europe's next-generation Ariane rocket, upgrades to the light-lift Vega vehicle and — as a lower priority — their continued participation in the international space station. The meeting should give these governments a better sense of whether a formal conference of European Space Agency ministers scheduled for December 2 in Luxembourg will be able to make firm decisions, or will be limited to expressions of goodwill.
  34. Wolny, Marcin (10 January 2016). "Europe in space, 2015 overview". Tech for Space. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  35. "Ariane 6 design finalized, set for 2020 launch". Space Daily. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  36. Amos, Jonathan (28 January 2016). "Europe settles on design for Ariane 6 rocket". BBC News. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  37. de Selding, Peter B. (7 April 2016). "Airbus Safran Launchers aims for "the discipline of the flow" in Ariane 6 integration". Space News. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  38. Clark, Stephen (24 June 2015). "Ariane 6 rockets likely to be assembled horizontally". Spaceflight Now. Officials said the preliminary plan calls for the Ariane 6 rocket to be integrated horizontally, a practice long used for Russian launchers and more recently adopted by United Launch Alliance's Delta 4 rocket family and SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.
  39. Clark, Stephen (16 December 2015). "Q&A with Stéphane Israël, chairman and CEO of Arianespace". Spaceflight Now. When it comes to Ariane 64, we are at around US$90 to US$100 million, as opposed to Ariane 5, which is in terms of cost, around US$200 million. You see with the effort we're making, we want to reduce the cost around 40/50%, which is very ambitious.
  40. Amos, Jonathan (7 April 2016). "Ariane 6 project 'in good shape'". BBC News. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  41. Clark, Stephen (13 August 2016). "Ariane 6 rocket holding to schedule for 2020 maiden flight". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  42. Peach, Matthew (6 November 2015). "Austrian researchers to adapt laser ignition for rockets". optics.org. SPIE Europe. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  43. Amos, Jonathan (5 June 2015). "Airbus unveils 'Adeline' re-usable rocket concept". BBC News. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  44. "Une version réutilisable d'Ariane 6 est à l'étude" [A reusable version of Ariane 6 is under study] (in French). Futura-Sciences. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  45. Clark, Stephen (13 August 2016). "Ariane 6 rocket holding to schedule for 2020 maiden flight". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  46. "Ariane 6, the new generation of European launch vehicules [sic]". Ariane Group. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  47. Meddah, Hassan (7 February 2017). "Vous avez aimé Ariane 6, vous allez adorer Ariane Next" [If you liked Ariane 6, you will love Ariane Next] (in French). L'Usine nouvelle. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  48. "Callisto, Véhicule Spatial Réutilisable" (PDF). CNESmag (in French). No. 68. CNES. May 2016. p. 10.
  49. Henry, Caleb (8 January 2019). "Arianespace says full Ariane 6 production held up by missing government contracts". SpaceNews. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  50. Henry, Caleb (27 February 2019). "OneWeb's first six satellites in orbit following Soyuz launch". SpaceNews. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  51. Jeff Foust [@jeff_foust] (7 May 2019). "Stéphane Israël, Arianespace: ordered first production batch of 14 Ariane 6 rockets yesterday for missions in 2021-23. #SATShow" (Tweet). Retrieved 7 May 2019 – via Twitter.
  52. de Selding, Peter B. (3 April 2015). "Desire for Competitive Ariane 6 Nudges ESA Toward Compromise in Funding Dispute with Contractor". SpaceNews. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  53. de Selding, Peter B. (4 November 2016). "ESA decision frees up full funding for Ariane 6 rocket". SpaceNews. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  54. Amos, Jonathan (9 November 2016). "Full rocket funding unlocked by ESA". BBC News. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  55. Forrester, Chris (23 January 2020). "EU loans €100m to Arianespace". Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  56. "OneWeb takes pole-position in global satellite Internet race". Space Digest. 25 June 2015. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015. In a press-release, Arianespace detailed that the contract foresees 21 Soyuz launches, plus an option for 5 additional Soyuz and three Ariane 6 missions... Stéphane Israël, Chairman and CEO of Arianespace, noted that this was the first order for new European Ariane 6 launcher.
  57. Clark, Stephen (11 September 2018). "Arianespace signs Eutelsat as first commercial customer for new Ariane 6 rocket". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.