He [Eutelsat Chief Executive Rodolphe Belmer] also said Eutelsat, a commercial satellite fleet operator, is worried about the competitiveness of Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket, which may never reach the launch cadence of competitors SpaceX and Blue Origin.
Eutelsat to French parliament: OneWeb’s European; Ariane 6 has a serious launch cadence problem vs SpaceX, Blue OriginQuote from: spaceintelreport.comHe [Eutelsat Chief Executive Rodolphe Belmer] also said Eutelsat, a commercial satellite fleet operator, is worried about the competitiveness of Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket, which may never reach the launch cadence of competitors SpaceX and Blue Origin.
Skyloom signs contract with Arianespace for first launchQuoteArianespace will launch Skyloom’s first geostationary lasercom relay node, a telecommunications start up based in Oakland, California. This innovative satellite will be part of a rideshare mission aboard Arianespace’s next-generation heavy-lift vehicle, the Ariane 64. This vehicle, set to debut in mid-2022 is capable of reaching more reference orbits due to its re-startable Vinci upper-stage.
Arianespace will launch Skyloom’s first geostationary lasercom relay node, a telecommunications start up based in Oakland, California. This innovative satellite will be part of a rideshare mission aboard Arianespace’s next-generation heavy-lift vehicle, the Ariane 64. This vehicle, set to debut in mid-2022 is capable of reaching more reference orbits due to its re-startable Vinci upper-stage.
Between GEO satellites and demand from constellations and other customers, he said he was optimistic about the prospects of the Ariane 6, scheduled to make its first launch in the second quarter of 2022. The business plan for the rocket was based on 11 launches a year. “With the perspective we have now for demand, it’s not a dream to consider that we can make it and maybe go beyond.”
The first Ariane 6 flight is planned for the second quarter of 2022
France's space agency @CNES turns over to @ESA the @Ariane6 launch pad after 8 yrs & >$700M; 2 yrs late & over budget, but on track relative to ESA's updated plan a yr ago. Goal now: Launch in Q3 2022. @ArianeGroup @Arianespace. bit.ly/3ieK5gn
About 250 employees of the ArianeGroup establishment in Vernon, in the Eure, demonstrated on Monday, October 4, 2021. The site should be set, Friday, October 8, 2021, on the exact number of jobs threatened. The inter-union requests an interview with the general management “to obtain guarantees”.At the call of the intersyndicale (CFDT, CFE-CGC, CGT, Sud, UNSA), around 250 of the 860 employees of the ArianeGroup establishment in Vernon, in the Eure, mobilized, Monday, October 4, 2021, in in the morning, for a walk from the company to the very symbolic space roundabout.This social movement follows the announcements of the general management of the aerospace giant, dated September 23, 2021 . No less than 600 positions, on the basis of voluntary departures and transfers to Airbus and Safran, must be eliminated in the group by the end of 2022, in France and Germany . A restructuring to which is added, for Vernon, the transfer across the Rhine of the activity of the Vinci engine.
ArianeGroup was decided in 2014/2015 on the basis of at least 11 Ariane 6 flights per year ; that was the European objective at the time.But this ambition was shattered:SpaceX (if it was just him!) Has been there and the market prices for civilian launches have plummeted, diverting even our most loyal customers. It is true that it benefits legally, but in defiance of fair competition, from prices spiked upwards for US government launches. Europe has taken too long to react despite appeals for help from the industrial sector, both companies and unions; in addition, we are witnessing an intensification of national ambitions for independent access to space, notably with initiatives on micro-launchers In 7 years, the space market has changed dramatically and the appearance of constellations is changing the situation The development of Ariane 6 took longer than initially expected (Covid-19 does not explain everything!)Today the target rate is revised downwards:This summer's ESA Council validated 4 guaranteed institutional flights per year during the “operational” phase (2025-2030), after the previous so-called “transition” phase. This deal is conditional on the success of Ariane 6 flight 1 around mid-2022 with 2 major challenges: date and success of flight 1 .In addition to these 4 institutional flights, ArianeGroup expects 3 commercial flights per year, for a total of 7 Ariane 6 flights per year against 11 initially .
Ariane 6 development: progress on all frontsThese are exciting days at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana and throughout several sites in ESA Member States as the development of Ariane 6 enters its final phase. Ariane 6 parts are being shipped from Europe for combined tests on the new Ariane 6 launch base. These tests rehearse all activities and systems involving the rocket and launch base on an Ariane 6 launch campaign. On the final test, the Ariane 6 core stage will perform a static hot firing while standing on its recently inaugurated launch pad. It will be from this new launch base that ESA’s Ariane 6 rocket will soon be launched for the first time.Meanwhile in Europe, Ariane 6’s upper stage will experience the conditions of space at a new test bench at @DLR in Lampoldshausen. After this, all is ready for the much anticipated first flight of ESA’s new heavy-lift rocket from Europe’s Spaceport.
How to transport and handle an #Ariane6 solid rocket motor? Tests at @EuropeSpacePort let us validate these industrial tools on an inert mock-up before doing it on the real booster. We call this motor the #P120C and it will also be used as the first stage of #VegaC @vega_sts
ArianeGroup@ArianeGroup·4. Jan.RaketeThe #Ariane6 core stage and upper stage intended for the combined tests on the launch pad in French Guiana have left the #ArianeGroup sites in Les Mureaux and Bremen and begun their journey to Europe’s Spaceport.
@AfifRocketMario·4. Jan.When will those 2 arrive at the spaceport?
Paul Montagne@AstroPolo_Space...Mid-January. Beginning of combined tests (Launcher+Pad) in April
