Press release

ARIANE 6 : FIRST UPPER STAGE READY FOR HOT-FIRING TEST

4 minutes
Share
  • The first complete Ariane 6 upper stage has just left the ArianeGroup site in Bremen, where it was developed and integrated, for hot-fire testing on the German Aerospace Center (DLR) site in Lampoldshausen
  • This delivery represents a major step in the development of the new European Ariane 6 launch vehicle; its inaugural flight is scheduled for the second quarter of 2022

The first complete upper stage of the new Ariane 6 launch vehicle has just left the ArianeGroup plant in Bremen, Germany. The stage is now complete, with its two liquid hydrogen and oxygen tanks connected to the new re-ignitable Vinci engine and equipped with all lines, valves, and electronic and hydraulic instrumentation and control systems. It is now fully operational, following final assembly in October 2020 and successfully undergoing all functional testing (hydraulic, electrical, and avionics) at the ArianeGroup site in Bremen. This stage, called the Hot Firing Model (HFM), will now be transported from Bremen to Lampoldshausen in Baden-Württemberg, for hot-fire testing at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) facility.

The stage will be loaded onto a barge at Bremen’s Neustadt port and travel down the Weser river to the North Sea, then up the Rhine and Neckar rivers to Bad Wimpfen in Baden-Württemberg. From there, it will be taken by road to Lampoldshausen. It will then be installed on the specially constructed test bench inaugurated in 2019. Once the stage is in place under the gantry on the test site, the campaign will consist of firing up the stage up to four times. Scheduled for the second quarter of 2021, the final tests will qualify the upper stage as “flight ready” as part of the Ariane 6 general system qualification process.

Completion of this stage for the first hot-fire tests is a major step for Ariane 6, for Germany, and for
European space as a whole. This first complete upper stage and its transport to the qualification test
site underscores the quality of the work done by ArianeGroup and our industrial partners, as well as
our determination and our flexibility,” said Karl-Heinz Servos, COO of ArianeGroup. “Another stage
to be used for combined tests of the launch system integrating the launch vehicle and launch pad
facilities in Kourou is currently being completed in Bremen, while the first upper stage flight model
intended for the Ariane 6 maiden flight is undergoing integration. I would like to thank all our
ArianeGroup colleagues and all our European industrial partners for their commitment throughout
this difficult period. I also salute DLR, CNES and, of course, the European Space Agency, for their
confidence, their essential contribution and their support.”

Launcher upper stage production is a long tradition in Bremen and is a key feature of the German
high-technology landscape. The stages manufactured in the Hanseatic city of Bremen have
successfully launched many satellites into orbit and helped make the European Ariane launch vehicle one of the safest in the world. We at the German Space Agency within the DLR German Aerospace Center have always been committed to constantly developing and expanding upper stage expertisein Bremen. The first new Ariane 6 upper stage is now about to leave the ArianeGroup production site and so the next chapter in the European space transport story begins,” said Dr. Walther Pelzer, Head of the German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Center (DLR). “With the first Ariane 6 upper stage hot-fire testing at the new P5.2 test facility at DLR’s Lampoldshausen site, we are now one more vital step closer to Ariane 6’s maiden flight.

Daniel Neuenschwander, Director of Space Transportation at ESA, said: “We have reached another
milestone on the Ariane 6 road to flight. Seeing the elements of Ariane 6 coming together is very
exciting. With the upcoming hot-firing tests of the complete upper stage we will gain valuable insights
into the technical heart of this new European launch vehicle."

Thanks to its re-ignitable Vinci engine, the Ariane 6 upper first stage will be ideally suited to complex
missions, such as the positioning of satellite constellation clusters.

Of the 550 highly qualified employees currently working at the ArianeGroup site in Bremen, about
100 are producing components for Ariane 6, in a building equipped with the very latest industry 4.0
manufacturing process and integration technologies. This ensures optimized production in terms of
cost, efficiency, and respect for the environment. In addition to the HFM delivered today, two further
upper stages are being integrated: one for combined launcher/launch pad tests in Kourou, the
Combined Test Model (CTM), and the other for the Ariane 6 maiden flight, the Flight Model 1 (FM1).
The launch pad facilities are currently being built by CNES (the French Space Agency), while in
ArianeGroup’s Les Mureaux plant (France) the core stage, itself also intended for combined tests
(another part of the CTM) is also being integrated, along with the maiden flight core stage (FM1).

Ariane 6 is a program managed and funded by the European Space Agency (ESA). As industrial
prime contractor and design authority for the launcher, ArianeGroup is responsible for its
development and production with its industrial partners, as well as for operation through its subsidiary Arianespace. The French space agency CNES is responsible for the construction of the launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana.

Related visuals

Press contact

ArianeGroup :
Astrid EMERIT - T. +33.6.86.65.45.02
astrid.emerit@ariane.group

DLR :
Elisabeth MITTELBACH – T. + 49.228.447.385
Elisabeth.mittelbach@dlr.de 

ESA
Ninja MENNING – T. +31 71 565 6409
media@esa.int 

Subscribe

* Required fields
Toutes les informations collectées dans le présent formulaire sont enregistrées par ArianeGroup, responsable du traitement. Elles sont indispensables pour traiter votre demande. Elles ont vocation à être utilisées pour gérer votre demande. Les données collectées sont transmises aux équipes ou sous-traitants de ArianeGroup. Il n’existe aucune prise de décision entièrement automatisée par ArianeGroup sur la base de vos données personnelles. Les données personnelles collectées sont stockées à l’intérieur de l’Union européenne. Elles sont conservées par ArianeGroup de manière sécurisée conformément à la réglementation et pour 3 ans ou, le cas échéant, la durée de nos relations contractuelles augmentées de 5 ans. Vous disposez d’un droit d’accès, de rectification, de limitation, d’effacement, d’opposition pour motif légitime, d’un droit à la portabilité de vos données, du droit de définir des directives relatives au sort de vos données à caractère personnel après votre mort et, le cas échéant, de retirer votre consentement à tout moment. Pour exercer un ou plusieurs de ces droits il convient de fournir une pièce justificative d’identité et de contacter la personne en charge de la protection des données de ArianeGroup à l’adresse suivante : Ariane Group, 7-11 quai André Citroën – 75015 Paris, par mail : (digitalcom@ariane.group) ou par téléphone : 01 39 06 85 00. En cas de réclamation, vous pouvez contacter la CNIL (www.cnil.fr). Vous pouvez inscrire sur la liste d’opposition au démarchage téléphonique sur www.bloctel.gouv.fr.
Sign in to download photos and videos.
Sign up to obtain your login details.