Unpackaging an Ariane 6 launch campaign – Part 1

Preparing the boosters

Come with us into the heart of an Ariane 6 launch campaign. Get to know our Rocket Makers who will show you the inner workings of the various steps of the process which takes our launcher from its arrival at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, right up to its blast off from the launch pad.

This series of videos explains all the different phases that our Ariane 6 launcher goes through as we prepare it and its passengers for the all-important seconds of lift-off.

We start our tour at the propulsion system zone where the boosters, the solid-fuel motors which deliver a thrust equal to more than 35 jet engines, are prepared for their integration on the Ariane 6 central core on the launch pad.

Benoît, Nicolas and Philippe talk us through the highly detailed processes that are undertaken in the ESR Finishing Facility (EFF), the ArianeGroup building specially designed for the integration of the Ariane 6 boosters. The EFF is ArianeGroup’s most digitally advanced workshop at the Spaceport in Kourou.

Follow us for the next chapters in this series which will reveal the processes of the preparation of Ariane 6 as it heads towards its rendez-vous with its critical moment on the launchpad.