First successfull launch of the new sounding rocket SyLEx
28.11.2025
On November 28, 2025, ArianeGroup carried out the first launch of a new sounding rocket flight test system called SyLEx (Système de Lancement d’Expériences, or Experiment Launch System) operated by the French Defence Procurement and Technology Agency’s Missile Testing Centre in Biscarrosse (DGA EM).
This successful launch validates the single-stage version of the new system and its dedicated launch pad. Developed in under three years on behalf of DGA, SyLEx introduces for the first time in France a sovereign suborbital launch capability.
For this first flight, SyLEx carried an ArianeGroup experimental payload, a platform for technological integration and demonstration.
SyLEx is designed to support a wide range of missions, including atmospheric re-entry and microgravity experiments. It targets both civilian and military applications on the European market.
This new product consists of two sounding rocket models, a single-stage and a two-stage version, completed by a dedicated launch pad. With a payload capacity up to 600kg, the new launch system will be capable of reaching altitudes between 200 and 400 kilometres. Depending on the payload and mission configuration, the SyLEx sounding rocket can accommodate multiple experiments in a single flight.
“This successful first flight secures sovereign testing capabilities for France using sounding rockets. SyLEx has been designed and built by ArianeGroup teams in under three years, based on test-and-learn methods. Thus, DGA’s renewed confidence in ArianeGroup’s expertise enables France’s autonomy and sovereignty in suborbital launch capabilities. We are already advancing to the next phase of our incremental roadmap: the two-stage version.”
