The European Space Agency's Ariane 6 rocket successfully completed a dress rehearsal on Thursday, test-firing its engine in preparation for a maiden voyage scheduled for 2024.The hot-fire test at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana "simulated a complete launch sequence and thus validated the entire flight phase of Ariane 6's core stage," it said in a statement after Thursday's rehearsal.
The European Space Agency's Ariane 6 rocket went through a crucial hot-fire test that replicated what the launch vehicle's core stage engine will do during an actual launch.
Europe conducted a crucial seven-minute-long burn with the core-stage engine of its new Ariane 6 rocket today (Nov. 23), keeping the vehicle on track for a 2024 debut.
Italy, France and Germany on Monday have reached a deal underpinning future launches of the delayed Ariane 6 and Avio's smaller Vega-C rockets, Italy's industry minister said. Europe's new heavyweight launcher built by ArianeGroup - an Airbus-Safran joint-venture - has been delayed by technical glitches and is due to stage its first test launch in 2024, four years behind the original plan. Beyond resolving the immediate technical problems, European states have been at odds over medium-term budgets and schedules stretching beyond the first 15 flights of Ariane 6.
The spaceflight sector is buzzing this week, with key tests from SpaceX and Arianespace, alongside significant progress in NASA's Artemis 2 Moon mission.