Ariane 6’s inaugural launch is targeted for July 9

Ariane 6’s first launch is targeted for July 9, 2024 from the European Spaceport in French Guiana, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher announced today at the ILA Air Show in Berlin.

Josef Aschbacher joined Ariane 6 Task Force partners ArianeGroup CEO Martin Sion, CNES CEO Philippe Baptiste and Arianespace CEO Stéphane Israël on stage to announce this milestone.

Walther Pelzer, Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR, was also present for the occasion.

Ariane 6 is Europe’s new heavy-lift launch vehicle that replaces its hugely successful predecessor, Ariane 5. Modular and versatile, Ariane 6 has a flashable upper stage that allows it to launch multiple missions into orbit different in a single flight.

ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said: “Ariane 6 marks a new era of autonomous and versatile European space travel. This powerful rocket is the culmination of many years of dedication and ingenuity by thousands across Europe and, when launched, it will restore Europe’s independent access to space. I am pleased to announce that the first release attempt will be on July 9th. I would like to thank the field teams for their hard work, teamwork and dedication in this final part of the inaugural launch campaign. Ariane 6 is Europe’s rocket for today’s needs, adaptable to our future ambitions.

For the development of Ariane 6, ESA is the launch system architect working with prime contractor ArianeGroup for the development of the launch vehicle and with CNES for the development of the ground segment. ESA is the operator responsible for the inaugural flight while for subsequent flights Arianespace is the launch service provider that markets and operates the Ariane 6 launcher for institutional and commercial customers to launch a variety of missions into orbit.

“The announcement of the planned date for the first flight of Ariane 6 puts us in the starting space of the launch campaign and we are fully engaged in completing the final steps. This flight will mark the culmination of years of development and testing by teams at ArianeGroup and its partners across Europe. It will pave the way for commercial operations and significant growth over the next two years. Ariane 6 is a powerful, versatile and scalable launcher that will ensure Europe’s autonomous access to space,” said Martin Sion, ArianeGroup CEO.

“Once again, the announcement of the date of the inaugural flight of Ariane 6 from the Guyana Space Center is a decisive step towards European sovereignty in terms of access to space. Achieving this date was made possible thanks to the colossal efforts of all entities in the home area. I would like to pay tribute to the collective achievement of overcoming the pitfalls over the months. Now on to the final adjustments before departure. Europe in space is ready for liftoff: we are all united behind Ariane 6!” exclaimed Philippe Baptiste, CEO of CNES.

“With 30 missions in our order book, Ariane 6 has already won the trust of institutional and commercial customers. We are preparing to do the second launch of Ariane 6 by the end of the year, followed by a steady increase to about ten launches per year once we reach cruise speed. It represents an excellent challenge for Arianespace and our partners,” added Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace.

At the European Spaceport in French Guiana, many different payloads are integrated into Ariane 6’s cargo carrier. The last important point before launch is the wetsuit test. Once this activity is complete, Ariane Task Force 6 will provide a joint update on the inaugural flight.