Spaceflight Insider

News Archive / Tagged: Ariane 6

  • Ariane 5 rocket bids adieu after 27 years of service

    Derek RichardsonJuly 5th, 2023

    Nearly three decades after its debut launch, Europe’s workhorse Ariane 5 rocket has taken to the skies one last time, carrying a pair of communications satellites bound for geostationary orbit.

  • Amazon signs contracts for 83 rocket launches

    Theresa CrossApril 12th, 2022

    Last week, Amazon announced one of the most significant rocket deals within the commercial space market in order to build its Kuiper internet constellation.

  • Ariane 5 poised to be retired

    Collin SkocikJanuary 11th, 2018

    After more than twenty years in service, the Ariane 5 rocket is going to stop flying. The European rocket was first flown in June of 1996, and ArianeSpace has now ordered the last ten Ariane 5 launchers.

  • Ariane 6 gets full funding from ESA

    Tomasz NowakowskiNovember 12th, 2016

    Full funding for Europe’s new Ariane 6 launch vehicle has just been secured on Nov. 9 by ESA as the agency signed an amendment to its earlier agreement with Airbus Safran Launchers (ASL), the rocket’s manufacturer. The new deal unlocks $1.9 billion; the remainder of $2.6 billion for the development of Ariane 6 stipulated in an August 2015 agreement.

  • Ariane 6 VINCI engine enters hot-fire testing campaign

    Tomasz NowakowskiMay 31st, 2016

    Europe’s future launcher, Ariane 6, has entered the first test campaign, marking a key milestone in its development. The manufacturer of the new rocket, Airbus Safran Launchers (ASL), has recently announced it has begun the hot-fire testing activities of the rocket’s upper stage engine, named VINCI.

  • Ariane 6 and Vega C boosters to secure Europe’s autonomous access to space

    Tomasz NowakowskiMay 10th, 2016

    The European Space Agency (ESA) is on track to develop its fleet of launch vehicles of the future. The agency’s Ariane 6 and Vega C launchers are slated to be highly competitive in the world market, offering reasonable prices for launch services.

  • Arianespace announces busy 2016 launch manifest

    Tomasz NowakowskiJanuary 8th, 2016

    European commercial launch provider Arianespace has announced this week a busy 2016 launch manifest, targeting up to 11 missions this year. The company plans to conduct a record number of eight flights of its workhorse Ariane 5 heavy-lift vehicle. This year's launch schedule also includes two launches of the lightweight Vega rocket, and one using the medium-lift Soyuz booster.

  • ESA signs contracts for the development of Ariane 6 and Vega C launch vehicles

    Tomasz NowakowskiAugust 15th, 2015

    On Aug. 12, ESA signed contracts for the development of its two new launch vehicles. Under the first contract, worth 2.4 billion euros, the French company Airbus Safran Launchers (ASL) will build Ariane 6 launcher in its two versions, Ariane 62 and 64. This was just the start of ESA's recent efforts to develop launch vehicles.

  • Past and current Ariane launchers: A review

    Space Safety MagazineDecember 27th, 2014

    With a recent 63rd consecutive launch success, the European launcher Ariane 5 has a leader position on the commercial launchers market. In order to ensure this leading position, ESA’s member governments met in Luxembourg in December 2014 and agreed on Ariane 5’s next evolution, While Germany was in favor of a progressive upgrade of the […]