Ariane 6, the giant replacement rocket for the European Space Agency (ESA), is already delayed until the end of 2024. Now the ESA says that is medium-lift rocket, Vega-C, is also delayed until Q4/2024. The news means that Europe doesn’t have a working rocket to launch commercial, scientific or military satellites, other than two remaining […]
The already much-delayed debut launch of Ariane 6 rocket is to be further delayed. A briefing by the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that maiden flight is not now likely until the middle of 2024. The delays are likely to push the rocket’s first commercial launch towards the end of 2024. The original schedule called […]
The European Space Agency (ESA) has again postponed a test-firing of the rocket’s main stage. A statement on August 30th said that a planned test on August 29 was scrubbed because of problems which the Agency described as a “technical issue affecting the control bench” that handles propellant loading and the automated countdown. The key […]
Europe’s giant Ariane 6, already much delayed, is to be further postponed into 2024 says the European Space Agency (ESA). The delay, perhaps as long as six more months, comes amid considerable criticism of ESA, and the rocket’s other build and launch contractors. One recent comment described the ESA and its partners in the project […]
Arianespace has provided a detailed timetable for the introduction of the new Ariane 6 version. The final Ariane 5 rocket will launch on July 4th. Ariane 6 is already extremely late and the original objective was for the rocket to seamlessly take over the launch missions from Ariane 5. While managers have stressed that there […]
Arianespace will launch its final Ariane 5 rocket on June 16th. The mission aims to launch two satellites: Syracuse 4B, built by Airbus Defence and Space for a French government defence role, and the Heinrich-Hertz-Mission, built by OHB for the German space agency DLR. The flight represents the end of the Ariane 5, a system […]
The European Space Agency (ESA) has issued an update to its timetable for the debut launch of its new Ariane 6 launch vehicle. The update came from a Ariane 6 Launcher Task Force set up with ESA’s top management, the launch base prime contractor (CNES), the rocket’s builder ArianeGroup, and service provider Arianespace. But the […]
Prior to the Ukraine invasion by Russia and the destruction of the giant Antonov-225 aircraft in Kyiv many of the world’s largest satellites and rocket elements were flown from Europe to their North or South American launch sites by the Antonov. Arianespace has a new method of transportation. Ariane has just wrapped a test transatlantic […]
Arianespace has appointed Steven Rutgers to serve as its next Chief Commercial Officer. Rutgers began his career in the space industry over two decades ago – initially as the international market and account manager with Inmarsat distributor Xantic in the Netherlands. He subsequently worked in Hong Kong, Dubai and Singapore with Stratos and Inmarsat, negotiating […]
ArianeGroup has ordered its next batch of rockets with components from Airbus for 14 new Ariane 6 rockets. The contract includes the manufacturing and supply of innovative, large, lightweight structures for the next fourteen Ariane 6 launchers, to be manufactured from now until 2025. The contract will support ArianeGroup’s ramp up to full production rate […]