First encounter between the Ariane 6 central core and launch pad for combined tests

The Ariane 6 central core (composed of the core stage and upper stage), assembled on 23 June, left the Launcher Assembly Building for the first time, en route to its new launch pad, which was built under the supervision of CNES, the French space agency, at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. This decisive and keenly awaited step was carried out by ESA and executed by an integrated ESA-ArianeGroup-CNES team.

After the Launcher Assembly Building (BAL) doors were opened, the Ariane 6 central core, comprising two assembled cryogenic stages (core and upper), traveled in a horizontal position to its launch pad 800 meters away at a speed of 3 km/h, a journey lasting some twenty minutes, by means of four automatic guided vehicles (AGVs). 

The central core was then positioned vertically on its launch pad, an operation carried out by two AGVs and a crane equipped with a spreader bar, enabling the central core to transition from the horizontal to the vertical position. The vehicle was then rotated 180 degrees to allow its connection to the launch pad’s filling-drainage umbilical lines.

This involves three mock-ups (pylons) and the first P120C ESR (Equipped Solid Rocket) model for Ariane 6 transported vertically to the launch pad on 2 July. It is entirely representative of a flight model, but contains only inert materials for the purposes of the combined tests. 

The vertical transition of the central core on its launch pad illustrates one of the major changes in the launcher’s final assembly process, thus helping to meet the Ariane 6’s industrial efficiency objectives. 

The purpose of the combined tests is to check all the interfaces and communications between the Ariane 6 launcher and its launch pad. The flight software, control bench software and tank filling and drainage operations will also be tested, as they are vital for correct performance of a launch sequence.

The next step will be the installation of the upper composite – which consists primarily of the fairing and the payload – directly on the central core. Once tanks are filled, Vulcain 2.1 engine will then be ignited, with the launch pad being used for the first time as a test bed, although there will obviously be no lift-off.

The hot-fire tests of the full Ariane 6 upper stage are also being prepared at the German space agency (DLR) site in Lampoldshausen. 

Ariane 6 is a program managed by the European Space Agency (ESA), which is responsible for the entire architecture of the launch system and its funding. As industrial prime contractor and design authority for the launcher, ArianeGroup is responsible for development and production with its industrial partners, as well as for operations through its subsidiary Arianespace. The French space agency CNES is responsible for the construction of the launch pad in French Guiana.