Europe's Ariane 6 rocket launch restores ESA's space independence

As promised, albeit with a slight delay, the largest European launch vehicle, Ariane 6, successfully took off today at 3:00 PM Eastern Time. It commenced its journey from the spaceport in French Guiana. After several minutes into the flight, ESA can claim success. Everything proceeded according to plan: the rocket safely detached its boosters, and in the second stage, the engine successfully reignited at an altitude of about 580 kilometres.

The launch of the Ariane 6 rocket is a significant test for the European Space Agency (ESA). This new design aims to replace the now-retired Ariane 5, which had its final flight in July 2023. In doing so, Europe temporarily lost its independent capability to send various objects into space. In short, during this time, Europe did not have a vehicle to launch payloads into space.

The first flight of Ariane 6 marks a milestone for ESA and an opportunity to restore Europe's independence in space launches. Before the flight, Ariane 6 was transported to French Guiana – here, there is a Polish connection, as the rocket was transported using a ship built in a Polish shipyard.

Subsequently, scientists conducted the necessary tests to verify all key systems enabling the flight. The entire process proceeded smoothly – ultimately, Ariane 6 was able to lift off into space.

To recap, Ariane 6 is a two-stage launch vehicle, with its development costs estimated at over 5.4 billion CAD. It uses rocket engines powered by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen for propulsion. It is constructed from three main components: the first (main) stage, boosters, and the second stage.

Ariane 6 comes in two versions. The less powerful version has two boosters, while the more powerful version has four. On Tuesday, July 9, the less powerful variant, with two boosters, was launched.

The first stage of Ariane 6 is powered by a single Vulcain 2.1 engine, which uses a mixture of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. This entire component measures 5.5 metres in diameter and contains 127 tonnes of fuel.

The second stage has the same diameter as the main stage. It is also powered by a mixture of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen but is equipped with a Vinci rocket engine with a thrust of 178 kilonewtons. The second stage holds about 28 tonnes of fuel. The last component of Ariane 6, the boosters, provide additional thrust at launch for the ESA rocket.

According to the European Space Agency's plan, Ariane 6 should separate the side boosters from the main part of the rocket soon after launch. The stage separation of this 63-metre structure was scheduled to occur around the eighth minute after launch. These goals were accomplished without any issues during the Tuesday flight.

The scientists' plan involves placing the main stage in an orbit 700 kilometres above the Earth. Subsequently, the stage will execute a manoeuvre to reach a circular orbit 580 kilometres from the Earth, where it will release eight satellites. According to the plan, the deorbiting process should occur over the NEMO point in the Pacific.