The test campaign of the stages of the future European Ariane 6 launcher continues, after the success of Friday and before other deadlines in the autumn, after which the planned maiden launch period of 2024 will be decided, ESA officials and the Ariane group. The last test, carried out on Friday, verified the correct operation of the Ariane 6 upper re-igniter stage, at the German space agency DLR facilities in Lampoldshausen (Baden-Württemberg).
The Vinci engine in the Ariane 6 upper stage, responsible for launching payloads such as satellites into orbit, ran for 11 minutes, including two restarts. This functionality, which allows you to place multiple payloads in different orbits, is dependent on the proper functioning of another key upper stage component, the auxiliary power unit (APU).
Compete with SpaceX
In the next test, on September 5 in Kourou, the Vulcain 2.1 engine, in charge of propelling the main stage of the Ariane 6, will be turned on for four seconds. This test will be a replica of the one on July 18, which was carried out without an engine. hitch, except for the final shot. The next stage is scheduled for October 3, with a “long duration test, in which the Vulcain engine will run for the entire mission, approximately 470 seconds,” said Philippe Baptiste, president of the National Center for Space Studies.
This test is considered an important step in the Ariane 6 qualification campaign. “After this date, we will be able to define a launch period for Ariane 6,” said Josef Aschbacher, director of the European Space Agency (ESA). The qualifying program still includes an upper stage event in Lampoldshausen, at an unspecified date in the autumn. This test will examine the behavior of the Vinci engine and APU in “degraded mode” [en situation qui ne serait pas optimale, ndlr]according to an ESA statement.
“We also want to carry out this marginal test before the Ariane 6 flight,” Martin Sion specified, explaining that it is “to be sure that we have a very robust system.” “We have a logic of progressive development to ensure reliability,” he continued, adding that “reliability has been a key asset for Ariane from the very beginning.”
Initially scheduled for 2020, the first flight of the Ariane 6, designed to face competition from US launcher SpaceX, has been postponed several times due to the Covid-19 pandemic and development difficulties. The delay between the inaugural flight and the first commercial flight could be on the order of six months, according to the participants in the press conference.
Source: BFM TV
