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Ariane 6 Vinci engine: successful qualification tests

Press release

22.10.2018

Qualification tests on the Vinci® engine which will power the Ariane 6 upper stage were completed with the 148th test This final qualification test took place on October 12 on the PF52 test bench at ArianeGroup’s Vernon site Vinci® is a re-ignitable engine which contributes to the extreme versatility of the Ariane 6 launcher, whose first flight is scheduled for 2020

The final qualification test, carried out on the PF52 test bench at ArianeGroup’s site in Vernon (France), had a duration of more than 15 minutes (957 seconds) with two boosts.

 

These tests in Vernon followed the development/qualification tests in space vacuum conditions carried out in 2017 and 2018 on the P4.1 test bench of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) site in Lampoldshausen, Germany.

The qualifying campaigns have achieved several major ‘firsts’ in terms of performance, such as:

  • an series of 20 successful consecutive boosts during a single test of 300 seconds
  • a test with a total duration of 1,569 seconds

The objective was to test the Vinci® engine beyond its operational requirements: during its missions, it will only need to be ignited up to four times, with a maximum burn time of 900 seconds in flight.

This success, decisive for continuing the development of Ariane 6, ends the qualification test campaign, during which the Vinci® engine will have run for a total of 52,156 seconds (more than 14 hours).

At the same time, the production of the first parts of the Vinci® flight engines is underway at various ArianeGroup sites, with

  • the combustion chambers at Ottobrunn in Germany,
  • the divergent nozzles at Le Haillan near Bordeaux (France),
  • and the hydrogen turbopumps at Vernon.

 

The Vinci® engine developed by ArianeGroup for Ariane 6 gives the future European launcher considerable versatility. Its main feature is its multiple ignition capability:

This engine will enable the Ariane 6 launcher to carry out all types of missions, whatever their duration and target orbit, notably the deployment of satellite constellations, for which demand is continuing to grow.

As the design authority and industrial lead contractor for Ariane 6 launcher development and operation on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA), ArianeGroup coordinates an industrial network of more than 600 companies in 13 European countries, including 350 small and medium enterprises.