Author Topic: Partial Success : Ariane 62 VA262 maiden flight - 9 July 2024 (19:00 UTC)  (Read 83504 times)

Online zubenelgenubi

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12592
  • Arc to Arcturus, then Spike to Spica
  • Sometimes it feels like Trantor in the time of Hari Seldon
  • Liked: 8487
  • Likes Given: 83610
Ariane 6 update thread

Ariane 6 discussion thread



Payloads:
dummy payload
3Cat 4
Bikini Demo (was removed, then restored to this launch)
CURIE A and B (ELaNa 48)
CuriumOne
EIRsat 1
GRBBeta
ISTSAT 1
OOV-Cube
Robusta-3A Méditerranée
SpaceCase SC-X01
Hosted payloads:
PariSat
Peregrinus
SIDLOC
ESA YPSat–Eye2Sky



The current launch schedule lists launch for NET Q4 2022.  Do we have a source?

Cross-posts re: launch date; my bolds:

ESA lays out roadmap to Vega-C and Ariane 6 flights, dated October 29

Ariane 6

ESA, CNES and ArianeGroup have jointly established a consolidated reference planning for Ariane 6 development and are working as an integrated team in their respective roles to make it happen. This schedule is based on analysis of recent achievements, remaining critical milestones and the impact on the programme caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
<snip>
When all these steps are successfully completed Ariane 6 will be in a position to perform its maiden flight in the second quarter of 2022.

https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/1442928296073711616

Quote
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

As per this schedule (I'm not sure how up to date it is), the first of Vega-C is planned for March 2022, JUICE in Q3 2022, Ariane 6 first flight in Q3/4 2022, MTG-I1 in Q4 2022, and Euclid in Q1 2023.
https://twitter.com/AschbacherJosef/status/1452582751010439178

https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF/status/1479071607956119556?s=20

Quote from: Chris G
Stéphane Israël (@arianespaceceo) notes up to 17 @Arianespace launches in 2022, with:
- 4 of the 5 Ariane 5s (only JUICE will remain)
- 9 Soyuz launches (4 from Guiana + 5 from Baikonur)
- 1 Ariane 6 flights (1st NET 2nd half 2022)
- 3 Vega-C missions (1st NET April 2022)

Cross-posts re: experiments and payloads

Could the first Ariane 6 launch be a rideshare mission?
https://twitter.com/Ariane6/status/1456663840691732481
Quote from: Ariane 6
Call of Opportunity: Fly your payload on first Ariane 6 launch! Make sure to send ESA your notice of interest by Nov 15th [2021].

ESA selects payloads for Ariane 6 first flight
11/02/2022

ESA in close collaboration with ArianeGroup and Arianespace has selected payloads which best fit the profile of the first mission of its new generation Ariane 6 launch vehicle from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

This selection follows ESA’s announcement of opportunity in November 2021, which offered a launch to low Earth orbit for experiments up to a total mass of 80 kg and release of payloads with a combined mass of up to 800 kg. They will be hosted on a ‘mass dummy’ featuring a large platform, inside the 14 m long version of the fairing on an Ariane 6 fitted with two strap-on boosters (A62 version).

This demonstration flight will contribute to the qualification of the Ariane 6 launch system as part of the transition from its highly reliable and successful predecessor, Ariane 5. This launch is an important step in the preparation for future institutional missions planned for Ariane 6, such as Galileo.

For this flight, ESA is responsible for operations from the launch campaign to the payload separation, and then disposal of the upper stage through burn-up during reentry.

“I’m glad that ESA can use the very first Ariane 6 flight as a platform for launching these fantastic payloads, some of which will enable European start-ups to validate their systems and provide future commercial services. The Ariane 6 inaugural launch is a key step towards full qualification of the Ariane 6 launch system,” said Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA Director of Space Transportation.

Experiments on board

Four experiments, ranging in mass from 0.15–12 kg, will be fixed to the platform on top of the mass dummy. These experiments will return valuable data up to the end of the mission when the upper stage reenters Earth’s atmosphere.


Deployers

Two deployers will be arranged on board and will accommodate CubeSats. The RAMI deployer is built by Spain’s UARX Space, and the ExoPOD is built by ExoLaunch in Germany.

With some spaces for CubeSats still available, ESA may add to this collection closer to launch.

Ariane 6 is a modular launch vehicle using two or four P120C strap-on boosters to achieve the required performance. The reignitable Vinci engine powers the upper stage which allows Ariane 6 to reach a range of orbits to deliver more payloads on a single launch. The upper stage engine will typically burn one, two or more times to reach the required orbits. After payload separation a final burn deorbits the upper stage to mitigate space debris.

Ariane 6 is a project managed and funded by the European Space Agency. ArianeGroup is design authority and industrial prime contractor for the launcher system. The French space agency CNES is prime contractor for the development of the Ariane 6 launch base at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Arianespace is the launch service provider of Ariane 6 launches.

https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation/Ariane/ESA_selects_payloads_for_Ariane_6_first_flight
« Last Edit: 07/10/2024 04:25 pm by gongora »
Support your local planetarium! (COVID-panic and forward: Now more than ever.) My current avatar is saying "i wants to go uppies!" Yes, there are God-given rights. Do you wish to gainsay the Declaration of Independence?

Online zubenelgenubi

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12592
  • Arc to Arcturus, then Spike to Spica
  • Sometimes it feels like Trantor in the time of Hari Seldon
  • Liked: 8487
  • Likes Given: 83610
Cross-post:
SN, Arianespace narrows Vega C and Ariane 6 maiden flight windows, June 1
My bold
Quote
Vivian Quenet, Arianespace’s managing director and head of sales for the Asia-Pacific region, announced the timetable during a fireside chat at Asia Satellite Business Week in Singapore {on June 1}.

“After that one [Ariane 5 launch] {VA257} we will have the maiden flight of the Vega C” in {the} first week of July, Quenet said, and then “towards the end of the year, we have the maiden flight of Ariane 6, which is our heavy launcher which will replace Ariane 5.”
« Last Edit: 06/02/2022 08:06 pm by zubenelgenubi »
Support your local planetarium! (COVID-panic and forward: Now more than ever.) My current avatar is saying "i wants to go uppies!" Yes, there are God-given rights. Do you wish to gainsay the Declaration of Independence?

Online zubenelgenubi

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12592
  • Arc to Arcturus, then Spike to Spica
  • Sometimes it feels like Trantor in the time of Hari Seldon
  • Liked: 8487
  • Likes Given: 83610
Cross-post:
SN, Ariane 6 launch debut pushed into 2023, June 13
Quote
European Space Agency Director General Josef Aschbacher said June 13...Ariane 6 is set to fly “some time” in 2023 during a BBC interview without giving a reason for the delay.
Support your local planetarium! (COVID-panic and forward: Now more than ever.) My current avatar is saying "i wants to go uppies!" Yes, there are God-given rights. Do you wish to gainsay the Declaration of Independence?

Online zubenelgenubi

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12592
  • Arc to Arcturus, then Spike to Spica
  • Sometimes it feels like Trantor in the time of Hari Seldon
  • Liked: 8487
  • Likes Given: 83610
Cross-post:
Eric Berger writes:
Quote
The official declined to provide a new, specific launch target for Ariane 6's debut flight. (A separate source has told Ars the working date is no earlier than April 2023). The new launch target is expected to be revealed on July 13 during a joint news conference with European space officials.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/06/europes-major-new-rocket-the-ariane-6-is-delayed-again/

Peter de Selding SpaceIntelReport:
Quote
ESA official: No single event caused the latest Ariane 6 delay, and it’s unclear who will have to pay for it
written by Peter B. de Selding June 16, 2022

PARIS — The months-long delay in the inaugural flight of Europe’s heavy-lift Ariane 6 rocket, confirmed the week of June 13, came after technical reviews of the vehicle’s upper-stage testing and the launch-sequence software managing the rocket and its launch pad, a European Space Agency (ESA) official said.

There was no single event that precipitated the announcement that Ariane 6’s first flight would slip into 2023, with a more-precise estimate to await further review between now and mid-July, the official said.

https://www.spaceintelreport.com/esa-official-no-single-event-caused-the-latest-ariane-6-delay-and-its-unclear-who-will-have-to-pay-for-it/
« Last Edit: 06/17/2022 09:43 pm by zubenelgenubi »
Support your local planetarium! (COVID-panic and forward: Now more than ever.) My current avatar is saying "i wants to go uppies!" Yes, there are God-given rights. Do you wish to gainsay the Declaration of Independence?

Online zubenelgenubi

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12592
  • Arc to Arcturus, then Spike to Spica
  • Sometimes it feels like Trantor in the time of Hari Seldon
  • Liked: 8487
  • Likes Given: 83610
Cross-post; my bold:
As of this post, the only Ariane 5 launch scheduled for 2023 is JUICE; launch window opens April 5.  As an interplanetary launch with a limited window, I'm sure launch will be scheduled for April 5, barring an issue with that launch campaign.

The Ariane (62) first launch is now, apparently, NET April 2023.

Turn-around between CSG launches is approximately a minimum of two weeks.

If no commercial Ariane 5 launch is delayed to April 2023 or beyond, then all Ariane 5 launches will occur before the first Ariane 6 launch.

The JUICE launch will be VA261.

The first Ariane 6 launch will be VA262.

And, it's been out in the open since April.

Cross-post re: JUICE and last Ariane 5:
The Register gets up close and personal with ESA's JUICE spacecraft
Quote
And JUICE? "We will use the last Ariane 5 before the handover to Ariane 6," says Pham. "It will be launched from Kourou on the fifth of April 2023."
Shipment to the launch facility is expected during January 2023.

https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/11/esa_juice_visit/?td=rt-3a

Eric Berger writes:
Quote
The official declined to provide a new, specific launch target for Ariane 6's debut flight. (A separate source has told Ars the working date is no earlier than April 2023). The new launch target is expected to be revealed on July 13 during a joint news conference with European space officials.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/06/europes-major-new-rocket-the-ariane-6-is-delayed-again/

Peter de Selding SpaceIntelReport:
Quote
ESA official: No single event caused the latest Ariane 6 delay, and it’s unclear who will have to pay for it
written by Peter B. de Selding June 16, 2022

PARIS — The months-long delay in the inaugural flight of Europe’s heavy-lift Ariane 6 rocket, confirmed the week of June 13, came after technical reviews of the vehicle’s upper-stage testing and the launch-sequence software managing the rocket and its launch pad, a European Space Agency (ESA) official said.

There was no single event that precipitated the announcement that Ariane 6’s first flight would slip into 2023, with a more-precise estimate to await further review between now and mid-July, the official said.

https://www.spaceintelreport.com/esa-official-no-single-event-caused-the-latest-ariane-6-delay-and-its-unclear-who-will-have-to-pay-for-it/
« Last Edit: 06/24/2022 02:16 am by zubenelgenubi »
Support your local planetarium! (COVID-panic and forward: Now more than ever.) My current avatar is saying "i wants to go uppies!" Yes, there are God-given rights. Do you wish to gainsay the Declaration of Independence?

Offline two.scan

  • Member
  • Posts: 5
  • Liked: 3
  • Likes Given: 0
What about the payload?

is it possible ESA will risk for a couple of Galileo?

Online zubenelgenubi

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12592
  • Arc to Arcturus, then Spike to Spica
  • Sometimes it feels like Trantor in the time of Hari Seldon
  • Liked: 8487
  • Likes Given: 83610
What about the payload?

Is it possible ESA will risk for a couple of Galileo?
Apparently, no.
Support your local planetarium! (COVID-panic and forward: Now more than ever.) My current avatar is saying "i wants to go uppies!" Yes, there are God-given rights. Do you wish to gainsay the Declaration of Independence?

Offline Rik ISS-fan

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1634
  • the Netherlands
  • Liked: 714
  • Likes Given: 215
ESA, 11 February 2022: ESA selects payloads for Ariane 6 first flight

[zubenelgenubi: Attach files; do not embed them.]
« Last Edit: 09/02/2023 01:16 am by zubenelgenubi »

Offline hektor

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2776
  • Liked: 1247
  • Likes Given: 55
Bikini is a capsule reentry demonstrator, a forerunner of Nyx. It is produced by The Exploration Company. There is a thread about this organisation in Commercial Space.

SpaceCase is another reentry demonstrator, this time for ArianeGroup.

The last time Ariane carried a reentry vehicle was afaik (correct me if I am wrong) the 3rd flight of Ariane 5 i.e. Ariane 503 with the ARD.
« Last Edit: 07/31/2022 10:13 am by hektor »

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 54388
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 90604
  • Likes Given: 41836
Now NET Q4 2023

Quelle surprise (not)

https://twitter.com/chrisg_nsf/status/1582750512784769031

Quote
#Ariane6 first flight now expected no earlier than "last quarter 2023" according to ESA, ArianeGroup in update to media just now.

(Credit: @brickmack)

Offline Runerdieker

  • Member
  • Posts: 31
  • The Netherlands
  • Liked: 3
  • Likes Given: 1
Bikini is a capsule reentry demonstrator, a forerunner of Nyx. It is produced by The Exploration Company. There is a thread about this organisation in Commercial Space.

SpaceCase is another reentry demonstrator, this time for ArianeGroup.

The last time Ariane carried a reentry vehicle was afaik (correct me if I am wrong) the 3rd flight of Ariane 5 i.e. Ariane 503 with the ARD.
It's not that long ago: on 11th of february 2015 there was flight VV04 in which the IXV was launched on top of a VEGA-launcher.
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=8589.msg156458#msg156458
Another one should for long have been lauched: EXPERT is still shelved and waiting for a launch to happen since spring 2012...
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=17997.msg444154#msg444154

Offline gongora

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10634
  • US
  • Liked: 14731
  • Likes Given: 6338
0074-EX-CM-2023
Quote
Two satellites, CURIE A and CURIE B, will be launched aboard the Arianne 6 launch vehicle. The
current launch date is planned for NET October 1, 2023. They will be inserted into a circular orbit
at 580 km, on an inclination from the equator of 62 degrees.

These are two 3U sats that are joined together for launch into a 6U

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 54388
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 90604
  • Likes Given: 41836
https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1638895128571179008

Quote
The update on Ariane 6 from ESA's Daniel Neuenschwander: there will be an update in late June on the inaugural launch date (currently end of 2023) after upcoming hotfire tests.

Online zubenelgenubi

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12592
  • Arc to Arcturus, then Spike to Spica
  • Sometimes it feels like Trantor in the time of Hari Seldon
  • Liked: 8487
  • Likes Given: 83610
Support your local planetarium! (COVID-panic and forward: Now more than ever.) My current avatar is saying "i wants to go uppies!" Yes, there are God-given rights. Do you wish to gainsay the Declaration of Independence?

Online zubenelgenubi

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12592
  • Arc to Arcturus, then Spike to Spica
  • Sometimes it feels like Trantor in the time of Hari Seldon
  • Liked: 8487
  • Likes Given: 83610
Cross-post:
https://twitter.com/AschbacherJosef/status/1648739532374790144
Quote
Josef Aschbacher @AschbacherJosef
Never has a PPT caused so much commotion! The slide was merely a condensed timeline graphic - 2024 could have been more to the right, I admit! Vega C Launch plan is still Dec 2023, A6 no date confirmed today. [Apr 19]
« Last Edit: 04/27/2023 03:29 am by zubenelgenubi »
Support your local planetarium! (COVID-panic and forward: Now more than ever.) My current avatar is saying "i wants to go uppies!" Yes, there are God-given rights. Do you wish to gainsay the Declaration of Independence?

Online zubenelgenubi

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12592
  • Arc to Arcturus, then Spike to Spica
  • Sometimes it feels like Trantor in the time of Hari Seldon
  • Liked: 8487
  • Likes Given: 83610
Cross-post:
https://twitter.com/SpaceNews_Inc/status/1656761798031179778
Quote
SpaceNews @SpaceNews_Inc
OHB expects first Ariane 6 launch in early 2024
https://spacenews.com/ohb-expects-first-ariane-6-launch-in-early-2024/ [May 11]

Quote
WASHINGTON — A key Ariane 6 supplier expects the rocket to make its first launch within a year, but ruled out any chance the vehicle could fly before the end of 2023.

In a May 10 earnings call, executives with German aerospace company OHB predicted that the rocket will make its long-delayed debut within the first several months of 2024, the strongest indication yet by those involved with the rocket’s development that it will not be ready for launch before the end of this year.

“It’s not yet launched, but we hope that it will launch in the early part of next year,” said Marco Fuchs, chief executive of OHB, of Ariane 6 during a presentation about the company’s first quarter financial results. A subsidiary of OHB, MT Aerospace, produces tanks and structures for the rocket.
« Last Edit: 06/14/2023 03:50 am by zubenelgenubi »
Support your local planetarium! (COVID-panic and forward: Now more than ever.) My current avatar is saying "i wants to go uppies!" Yes, there are God-given rights. Do you wish to gainsay the Declaration of Independence?

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 54388
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 90604
  • Likes Given: 41836
https://twitter.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1658230415583215616

Quote
With Ariane 5 heading to retirement, its replacement - Ariane 6 - still has a while to go until it's ready to take over.

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2023/05/ariane-6-update/ - by Bella Richards (@bellaa_richards)
« Last Edit: 06/14/2023 03:50 am by zubenelgenubi »

Online zubenelgenubi

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12592
  • Arc to Arcturus, then Spike to Spica
  • Sometimes it feels like Trantor in the time of Hari Seldon
  • Liked: 8487
  • Likes Given: 83610
Cross-post:
https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/1668191794062938118
Quote
Peter B. de Selding @pbdes
Ariane 6 progress report: Autumn test firing of 2d stage by @DLR_de  added to schedule. Assembly of inaugural-flight vehicle to start in November. @esa  @CNES  @ArianeGroup  @Arianespace .
https://bit.ly/43OrkWe

https://www.spaceintelreport.com/ariane-6-autumn-test-firing-of-upper-stage-added-to-schedule-assembly-of-1st-flight-vehicle-to-start-in-november/
Quote
Ariane 6: Autumn test firing of upper stage added to schedule; assembly of 1st flight vehicle to start in November
written by Peter B. de Selding June 12, 2023

PARIS — Government and industry managers of Europe’s heavy-lift Ariane 6 rocket have added an additional test firing of the vehicle’s upper stage, to occur in the autumn, but otherwise reported apparently nominal progress on the vehicle’s development.

The final Ariane 5 mission is scheduled this month. The successor rocket, Ariane 6, is about two years behind schedule. Its inaugural flight, from Europe’s Guiana Space Center spaceport in South America, is likely to occur in the first half of 2024.
Support your local planetarium! (COVID-panic and forward: Now more than ever.) My current avatar is saying "i wants to go uppies!" Yes, there are God-given rights. Do you wish to gainsay the Declaration of Independence?

Online zubenelgenubi

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12592
  • Arc to Arcturus, then Spike to Spica
  • Sometimes it feels like Trantor in the time of Hari Seldon
  • Liked: 8487
  • Likes Given: 83610
Cross-post; no surprise:
https://twitter.com/astro_danyboy/status/1670727850926698496

Quote
BREAKING
Take-off of Ariane 6 in 2024: this is what Philippe Baptiste (DG CNES) has just announced at @EmmanuelMacron at @salondubourget.
Support your local planetarium! (COVID-panic and forward: Now more than ever.) My current avatar is saying "i wants to go uppies!" Yes, there are God-given rights. Do you wish to gainsay the Declaration of Independence?

Online zubenelgenubi

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12592
  • Arc to Arcturus, then Spike to Spica
  • Sometimes it feels like Trantor in the time of Hari Seldon
  • Liked: 8487
  • Likes Given: 83610
Cross-posts; more payloads:

https://www.lagazettedemontpellier.fr/live/63d29de2e052d11c64e54e3b/le-centre-spatial-universitaire-de-montpellier
Le Centre spatial universitaire de Montpellier cherche des candidats, January 26, by Marie Deghetto
Google tanslate:
Quote
Predicting episodes in the Cévennes, detecting plastics that pollute the oceans, anticipating droughts,... the very concrete projects of the CSUM nanosatellites are numerous. The next to be sent into space will be Robusta-3A Méditerranée, which is due to take Ariane 6's maiden flight at the end of 2023.

SN ESA confirms Ariane 6 debut to slip to 2024, August 9, by Jeff Foust
Quote
Following those tests, ESA said there will be a long-duration static-fire test of the Vulcain 2.1 engine at the Kourou spaceport, tentatively scheduled for Sept. 26. Only after that test, the agency said, will it be ready to announce a launch date for the inaugural Ariane 5.

“However,” the ESA statement added, “the inaugural flight is now scheduled for 2024.”

The slip of the Ariane 6 debut to 2024 was widely anticipated. In an earnings call in May, executives with OHB, the German company that is a supplier to the Ariane 6, said they expected the rocket to make its first launch “early next year” but not before.

That first Ariane 6 launch will carry a number of smallsat payloads, including a NASA-supported cubesat called Cubesat Radio Interferometry Experiment, or CURIE. A chart presented at a NASA smallsat town hall meeting during the 37th Annual Small Satellite Conference here Aug. 7 stated that CURIE would launch on an Ariane 6 no earlier than April 1, 2024.
...
Those issues led ESA to procure Falcon 9 launches from SpaceX for its Euclid space telescope, which successfully launched July 1, and the Hera asteroid mission in 2024. ESA also plans to acquire a Falcon 9 for its EarthCARE Earth science mission in 2024. ESA and the European Commission are weighing the use of Falcon 9 to launch Galileo navigation satellites.

Forbes Ireland’s First Satellite Will Capture High Energy Cosmic Bursts, August 16, by Bruce Dorminey
Quote
Ireland’s first-ever satellite EIRSAT-1, a gamma-ray burst hunting CubeSat, should see launch into low-Earth orbit later this year. Designed and manufactured by Ireland’s University College Dublin (UCD), the mission (with costs on the order of a few million euro)* will see launch atop a multi-payload Ariane rocket provided by the European Space Agency (ESA).
« Last Edit: 09/02/2023 01:50 am by zubenelgenubi »
Support your local planetarium! (COVID-panic and forward: Now more than ever.) My current avatar is saying "i wants to go uppies!" Yes, there are God-given rights. Do you wish to gainsay the Declaration of Independence?

Tags:
 

Advertisement NovaTech
Advertisement
Advertisement Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre Island
Advertisement Brady Kenniston
Advertisement NextSpaceflight
Advertisement Nathan Barker Photography
0