How do Ariane 5 and Ariane 6 parts get to their destination?
21.10.2022
How do we build a rocket across an entire continent?
With a great deal of organization and brain-racking! At this summer’s end, here are some postcards of the different journeys our launcher parts make.
‘@arianegroup
Our report begins with the engines at our site in Vernon, northern France, where most of the Vulcain 2, Vulcain 2.1 and Vinci engines are integrated, as you can see our in this photo.
The engines are then packed with great care to protect these extremely complex parts. The Vinci engine (seen here) then embarks on a long voyage to be integrated into the rest of the launcher.
‘@ArianeGroup
First, Vinci travels by road to the ArianeGroup site in Bremen (Germany) where it is integrated into the rest of the upper stage. Here, you can particularly see the spheres of pressurized helium (the black balls) that help to control the behavior of the stage’s propellants.
‘@ArianeGroup
Once it is fully integrated, the stage is turned on its side and placed horizontally in a container. As it measures a full 11.6m in height, just imagine the size of the huge trailer needed to carry it!
‘@ArianeGroup
This stage is so big that, to travel to the port of Neustadt only 7 km from our site in Bremen, the roads must be closed and the transport vehicle must creep along – quite the opposite of what the launcher is designed to do on its mission into space (average speed of 7,000 km/hour)!
In the meantime, the first Ariane 6 Vulcain 2.1 engines travel a short distance in France to our site in Les Mureaux located only 39 km from Vernon. There, the engine will be integrated into Ariane 6’s core stage.