The European Space Agency’s Ariane 6 rocket successfully completed a dress rehearsal on Thursday, performing a test launch of its engine in preparation for a maiden voyage planned for 2024.
The final results of the ignition test, which involved firing the Vulcain 2.1 engine and running it for more than seven minutes, will not be released until November 30, pending a full analysis.
But the manufacturer ArianeGroup has already called the test “successfully completed”.
The hot-fire test at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana “simulated a complete launch sequence and thus validated the entire flight phase of the Ariane 6 core stage,” it said in a statement after Thursday’s rehearsal.
ArianeGroup CEO Martin Sion praised the team for the “real industrial feat” but added that “some additional tests, in particular fault tolerance, were still needed before the rocket is ready for launch.
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The rocket’s predecessor, Ariane 5, last launched in July after 27 years of launches.
With the smaller Vega C grounded after a launch failure in December and Russia withdrawing space cooperation in response to Ukraine sanctions, ESA has been left without an independent path to space until it can get Ariane 6 ready.
The launch vehicle market, meanwhile, is increasingly dominated by billionaire Elon Musk’s American company SpaceX.
“This test is a key milestone that comes after years of planning, design, preparation, construction and hard work by some of Europe’s best space engineers,” said Josef Aschbacher, ESA director general.
“We are back on track to restore Europe’s autonomous access to space.”
Source: AFP