Ariane 6 maiden flight ends with unplanned incident
The Ariane-6 rocket is intended to launch satellites for commercial and public clients into space. It is even cheaper than its predecessor. The first flight into space did not go according to plan, but the participants consider it a clear success. The upper stage engine in the upper stage did not ignite as planned at the end of the flight, as ArianeGroup's CEO, Martin Sion, stated. "We have an anomaly that we don't yet understand" - namely, why the upper stage engine stopped. "But the rest of the mission went according to plan."
As planned, the rocket was supposed to bring 17 payloads into space during its maiden flight. At the end, the upper stage was supposed to burn up on its way back to Earth. Because the upper stage engine stopped, however, the Vinci engine of the upper stage did not ignite again to send the two remaining technical passengers into space. They will now remain in the upper stage, which remains in space.
Sion stated that during the flight, there was first a phase for delivering several satellites. "Everything went perfectly." Then there was a demonstration phase to see how the upper stage of the rocket behaves in so-called microgravity. This is a state in which the gravitational force does not or only very weakly acts.
Sion commented on the incident: "It's unfortunate, but that's also the reason we conduct a technical demonstration - because there are things we can't test on the ground." With the test phase at the end of the maiden flight, they wanted to collect as many data as possible. The necessary data to clarify the incident in more detail are not yet available. Once it is clear what exactly happened, the public will be informed, Sion assured.
The Ariane 6 is the successor model of the Ariane 5, which was in use from 1996 to summer 2023. It is intended to launch satellites for commercial and public clients into space and is cheaper than its predecessor.
ESA, along with its industrial partner ArianeGroup, is involved in the development and operation of the Ariane-6 rocket. The Spaceman from NASA expresses interest in utilizing the cost-effective space travel capabilities offered by ESA's Ariane-6 for future missions.
During the education phase of the Ariane-6 mission, NASA engineers will study the data collected from the technical demonstration to gain insights into space travel and potentially improve future collaborative space missions.
