Europe's Newest Rocket Has Flawlessly Embarked on its Third Flight as Well...

ESA - S. Corvaja

With Ariane 6, Arianespace Successfully Launches Metop-SGA1 Satellite (Press Release - August 13)

On August 12, 2025 at 9:37 p.m. local time in Kourou, French Guiana (00:37 a.m. UTC, 2:37 a.m. CEST, on August 13), Ariane 6 lifted off from Europe's Spaceport carrying EUMETSAT's Metop-SGA1 satellite.

With this second commercial flight, Ariane 6, the new European heavy-lift launcher operated by Arianespace, successfully placed Metop-SGA1 into a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) at an altitude of 800 km. Spacecraft separation occurred 1 hour and 4 minutes after lift-off.

A few minutes after separation, EUMETSAT successfully acquired signals from the satellite.

David Cavaillolès, CEO of Arianespace, declared: "Tonight, Arianespace has successfully launched EUMETSAT's Metop-SGA1 satellite, on board Ariane 6. The first of the next generation of European polar-orbiting weather satellites, Metop-SGA1 notably hosts the Copernicus programme Sentinel-5 atmospheric monitoring mission. This success pinpoints our dedication to ensuring Europe's autonomous and reliable access to space while also supporting an ambitious environmental mission that will provide cutting-edge data for weather and climate monitoring.

"Ariane 6's second commercial launch marks a significant milestone in our journey. We extend our gratitude to EUMETSAT and to all our partners across Europe for their trust and collaboration, driving Arianespace to deliver the utmost excellence."

"The success of this second commercial launch confirms the performance, reliability and precision of Ariane 6. Once again, the new European heavy-lift launcher meets Europe's needs, ensuring sovereign access to space," said Martin Sion, CEO of ArianeGroup. "The next rockets are well advanced in production thanks to the teams to whom I express my gratitude for their unwavering commitment.

"This demonstrates the ramp up taking place in ArianeGroup's plants and those of our industrial partners."

Phil Evans, Director-General of EUMETSAT, commented: “Extreme weather has cost Europe hundreds of billions of euros and tens of thousands of lives over the past 40 years—storms like Boris, Daniel and Hans, record heatwaves and fierce wildfires are just the latest reminders. The launch of Metop-SGA1 is a major step forward in giving national weather services in our member states sharper tools to save lives, protect property, and build resilience against the climate crisis. These positive impacts will be felt even beyond that and over the Atlantic, as Metop-SGA1 is Europe's first contribution to the Joint Polar System with NOAA.

"This milestone reflects years of teamwork across EUMETSAT, ESA, the EU, CNES, DLR, Airbus, Thales Alenia Space and many others. This is the beginning of an exciting new chapter as we work to ensure the satellite settles into orbit and starts delivering the vital data it was built to provide.”

For this second commercial mission, the Ariane 6 vehicle was in the two-booster Ariane 62 configuration with a short fairing.

Ariane 6 is a program developed within the framework of the European Space Agency (ESA). As prime contractor and design authority for the launcher, ArianeGroup is responsible for development and production alongside its industrial partners. Ariane 6 is marketed and operated by Arianespace.

The Metop-SGA1 (Second Generation A1) satellite will be the first of the next generation of European polar-orbiting weather satellites. Metop-SGA1 will host a total of six atmospheric sounding and imaging instrument missions that will provide optical, infrared and microwave observations-essential data for weather forecasting, climate monitoring, and a wide range of other services and applications. Amongst its hosts, Metop-SGA1 will carry the new Sentinel-5 atmospheric monitoring mission, part of the European Commission's Copernicus programme.

The spacecraft was built by Airbus Defence and Space, under a contract with the European Space Agency, and will be operated throughout its lifetime by EUMETSAT, which will also distribute its data to users.

Source: Arianespace

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ESA - M. Pédoussaut

Europe's Newest Rocket Launches on its Second Flight...

ESA - S. Corvaja

Ariane-6 Launches CSO-3: Double Success for France and Europe (Press Release - March 6)

Kourou, French Guiana -- The Airbus-built CSO-3 (Composante Spatiale Optique) Earth observation satellite for the French Armed Forces, has been successfully launched by Arianespace on Ariane 6’s first commercial flight from the European Spaceport in Kourou.

Alain Fauré, Head of Space Systems at Airbus said: “With each CSO satellite, there may be a new team but the same goal of serving our government customers remains: to provide the best resolution with an agile and secure network. All this, for the intelligence, autonomy and security of our nation. CSO-3 is a perfect illustration of what Airbus and the French space industry can do for France and Europe. It is also a great example of what Europe can do when teaming up!”

CSO-3 is the third of the three-satellite CSO fleet, which will provide extremely high-resolution geo-information intelligence to the French Armed Forces and its partners as part of the MUSIS programme (Multinational Space-based Imaging System for surveillance, reconnaissance and observation).

As prime contractor for the CSO satellite programme, Airbus has provided the agile platform and avionics, and was also responsible for integration and testing, and final delivery of the satellite to the French Space Agency, CNES. Thales Alenia Space provided Airbus with the very-high resolution optical instrument.

Airbus teams also developed directly for the DGA, the customised and dynamic User Ground Segment on behalf of the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) to the benefit of the French Space Command (CDE), which enables confidential distribution and sharing of information for France and its partners from several European states.

Lionel Suchet, CEO of CNES said: “I am delighted with the successful launch of CSO-3, a satellite serving French defense on behalf of CNES and DGA, built by Airbus Defence and Space in collaboration with Thales Alenia Space. The success of this launch, on Ariane 6's first commercial mission, is excellent news on several counts, and testifies to European and French excellence in the space sector, in the service of our citizens. With the launch of this third CSO satellite, CNES is providing operational support to the French Ministry of the Armed Forces in its drive to renew its space capabilities. I'd like to congratulate all the teams who helped make this launch a success, whether they were involved in preparing the satellite or in bringing this first Ariane 6 commercial mission to a successful conclusion”.

The CSO satellites are equipped with a very agile pointing system for highly effective image acquisition and are controlled via a secure ground control operations centre. The fleet offers 3D and very-high resolution imaging capability, in visible and infrared bandwidths, enabling acquisition during night and day and maximizing operational use.

The CSO-3 satellite, identical to CSO-1 and 2, will complement the reconnaissance operations of CSO-1 with amplified coverage and revisit capability over large zones at an altitude of 800km. Flying at a lower altitude, CSO-2’s focus is on identification, delivering much higher resolution image quality and precision analytics.

The satellite's tremendous agility and stability enable it to quickly provide users with extremely high-quality images from the Thales Alenia Space instrument, even for the most complex acquisition schedules.

Airbus was awarded the CSO contract at the end of 2010, by CNES, acting on behalf of the French Defence Procurement Agency, DGA. The contract included an option for a third satellite, which was activated after Germany joined the programme in 2015.

The success of this Ariane 6 launch has also been made possible thanks to Airbus employees in Spain and the Netherlands, who contribute to each Ariane 6 launcher, including from Spain large carbon fibre structures (interstage structures, launch vehicle adapter and top of the solid boosters) as well as the electronics and 90% of the wiring. From the Netherlands, the engine thrust frames for the Vulcain 2.1 and Vinci engines are provided.

Source: Airbus

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Airbus

ESA's Latest Launch Vehicle Takes Flight...

ESA - M. Pédoussaut

Europe's New Ariane 6 Rocket Powers Into Space (Press Release)

Europe's new heavy-lift rocket, Ariane 6, made its inaugural flight from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana at 16:00 local time on 9 July (20:00 time BST, 21:00 time CEST).

Ariane 6 is the latest in Europe's Ariane rocket series, taking over from Ariane 5, and featuring a modular and versatile design that can launch missions from low-Earth orbit to farther out into deep space.

"A completely new rocket is not launched often, and success is far from guaranteed. I am privileged to have witnessed this historic moment when Europe's new generation of the Ariane family lifted off – successfully – effectively reinstating European access to space,” said ESA's Director General Josef Aschbacher.

"An inaugural launch is a huge undertaking from thousands of people who have worked relentlessly for years. To see it perform wonderfully at the first attempt is testament to their dedication and a demonstration of European excellence in engineering and technology. Heartfelt thanks go to the teams at ESA, CNES, ArianeGroup and Arianespace for their hard work to get to this point. I also want to sincerely thank our Member States for having enabled and supported the Ariane 6 programme along the way. Not always easy, but the endurance shown has paid off handsomely today."

This inaugural flight, designated VA262, is a demonstration flight whose aim is to show the capabilities and prowess of Ariane 6 in escaping Earth's gravity and operating in space. Nevertheless, it had several passengers on board.

At 17:06, a little over an hour after liftoff, the first set of satellites on board Ariane 6 were released from the upper stage and placed into an orbit 600 km (373 mi) above Earth. Satellites and experiments from various space agencies, companies, research institutes, universities and young professionals were included on this inaugural flight.

In addition to the rocket, the liftoff demonstrated the functioning of the launch pad and operations on the ground at Europe's Spaceport. The new custom-built dedicated launch zone was built by France's space agency CNES and allows for a faster turnover of Ariane launches.

On the occasion of the launch, Philippe Baptiste, CEO of CNES, said: “With this first successful launch by Ariane 6, Europe has finally recovered its capacity to access space. Beyond the great emotion I am feeling right now, my first thoughts are for all the teams in Kourou, Paris, Vernon, Les Mureaux, Toulouse, Bremen, Lampoldshausen, Liège, Barcelona, Colleferro, Zürich and everywhere else in Europe who made this success possible. I would like to acknowledge the commitment of the employees of CNES, ESA, ArianeGroup, Arianespace and our subcontractors. The last few months have been intense, and I would like to thank them all. Europe can be proud of its space programme, Europe can be proud of its knowledge and expertise. Together, let's prepare the future of launchers and space.”

Ariane 6 was built by prime contractor and design authority ArianeGroup. “With the successful first flight of Ariane 6, the European space industry has moved into a new era,” said Martin Sion, CEO of ArianeGroup. “This historic launch demonstrates the unfailing commitment of our teams and partners, whom I would like to thank warmly for this success, which reflects on the entire European industry. Seeing Europe’s new launcher lift off into space marks the culmination of an outstanding technical and technological adventure, and the beginning of a long history of Ariane 6 operations. The next flight models are already in production and the stages of the second model will be shipped to the Guiana Space Centre this autumn for the first commercial flight of Ariane 6.”

Source: European Space Agency

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ESA - M. Pédoussaut

Europe's Newest Rocket Has Achieved a Major Milestone Before Its First Flight Next Year...

ESA – M. Pedoussaut

Hot Fire: Ariane 6 Ready to Rumble (News Release)

ESA’s new Ariane 6 rocket passed a major full-scale rehearsal today in preparation for its first flight, when teams on the ground went through a complete launch countdown followed by a seven-minute full firing of the core stage’s engine, as it would fire on a launch into space.

For this rehearsal, the boosters were not ignited so Ariane 6 stayed firmly on the launch pad at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, as planned.

The engine-fire trial reenacts how the Ariane 6 core stage will fire during a normal flight into space. Once complete the main engine would shut down and the core stage would separate from the upper stage, which would then take over propulsion and complete its mission.

The trial, conducted with a test model on the launch pad at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, was the longest ‘full-stack' run yet for Ariane 6’s lower liquid propulsion module with a Vulcain 2.1 engine.

“The teams from ArianeGroup, CNES and ESA have now run through every step of the rocket's flight without it leaving Earth,” says ESA’s Director General Josef Aschbacher.

“This milestone rehearsal comes after years of designing, planning, preparing, building and hard work from some of the finest space engineers in Europe. We are back on track towards resecuring Europe’s autonomous access to space. Well done to all involved!”

The Vulcain 2.1 engine burnt through almost 150 tonnes of propellant in the Ariane 6 core stage tanks – liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, the latter supercooled to temperatures below -250°C. Vulcain 2.1 is an evolution of the Vulcain 2 engine which made Ariane 5 Europe's most successful launch system to date.

The upgrade has a simplified and cheaper design, and new technology in the engine nozzle and ignition system has been moved from the engine to the launch pad structure, to make the stage perform better and cost less.

It took just over two hours and required teams of people and delicate operations to load the rocket’s central core with fuel. The filling operations were performed during a long countdown that included other qualification tests, similar to the previous rehearsals this year.

For fidelity and to guarantee launcher stability, the upper stage tanks were also fueled – even though the upper stage engine only kicks in once in orbit after separation from the main stage and so was not fired during this ground test.

The launch pad – operated by France’s space agency CNES – used its water deluge system to temper the heat from the engine.

ESA’s Director of Space Transportation, Toni Tolker-Nielsen, added his vote of confidence in the teams across Europe working to bring Ariane 6 to service: "A huge thanks to all of our dedicated colleagues who are committed and working tirelessly to see this rocket fly.”

The test followed a shorter burn in September (known as CTLO1) when Ariane 6's tanks were filled and its Vulcain 2.1 engine briefly ignited and switched off, and the filling and draining test executed in October (known as CTLO2.1) to check the launch system functions such as draining fuel in the presence of multiple simulated failures.

A last hot-fire test of the upper stage is being prepared and planned for December 2023 at the German Aerospace Center, DLR, Lampoldshausen test centre.

Source: European Space Agency