On Thursday, November twenty third, the European Space Agency performed its first fully integrated long-duration firing of the Ariane 6 at Kourou, French Guiana.
The test firing was barely delayed because of a “transient threshold pressure” reading and stopped the initial countdown at t minus 2 minutes and 42 seconds, but their teams worked through the difficulty and pressed on with the new fire.
Cinq, quatre, trois, deux, un, allumage Vulcain! 🔥#Ariane6
Live: https://t.co/QJ5MWezpMp
👏 pic.twitter.com/9K3vYW4i0w— ESA Space Transport (@ESA_transport) November 23, 2023
The Ariane 6 Vulcain 2.1 roared to life and fired for just over 7 minutes. the European Space Agency had said the test would last 8 minutes but later said the test was successful.
The Ariane 6 is the successor to the Ariane 5, which recently launched its last mission in July 2023 after flying for the past 27 years.
In the course of the 7-minute test, the Ariane 6 burned nearly 150,000 tonnes of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. The test simulated the duration the primary stage would burn during an actual flight and gimbaling of the engine that might control the trajectory of the rocket downrange.
This test marks considered one of the ultimate steps before the ESA launches the Ariane 6 on its inaugural flight. One last test that also must be accomplished is a long-duration firing of the second-stage engine.
The heavy-lift rocket will likely be able to launching as much as 20,600 kg into low Earth orbit and 11,500 kg right into a geostationary transfer orbit with 4 strap-on solid rocket boosters.
Replay of the #Ariane6 core stage hot-fire test🔥. Watch the thruster nozzle moving. 👀
During a launch this movement would compensate for aerodynamic forces pushing Ariane 6 off beam. Small changes, made robotically by the rocket’s avionics, will keep Ariane 6 heading to the… pic.twitter.com/H7Kex52YsQ— ESA Space Transport (@ESA_transport) November 23, 2023
The ESA hopes to launch Ariane 6 within the second quarter of 2024 after originally being intended to fly by 2020, and if the testing continues easily, it is extremely likely the rocket will make its first flight across the spring of next 12 months.
Do you’re thinking that the Ariane 6 will take flight early next 12 months, or will more delays occur?