29.01.2025
Arianespace to Launch Second Ariane 6 Rocket on 26 February
Credit: ESA / CNES / Arianespace / ArianeGroup
Arianespace has announced that the second flight of the Ariane 6 rocket will take place on 26 February at 5:24 PM CET (1:24 PM local time) from the Guiana Space Centre. The flight will be the rocket’s first commercial flight and will launch the CSO-3 spy satellite for the French Armed Forces.
“With this launch in support of French defence and the capability requirements of several partner nations, Arianespace will guarantee independent access to space for France and Europe, for the benefit of all our fellow citizens,” said Arianespace’s new CEO, David Cavaillolès.
Ariane 6 was successfully launched for the first time on 9 July 2024. Initially, the rocket’s second flight had been expected to take place before the end of 2024. However, in November, Arianespace, the rocket’s commercial operator, announced the flight had been delayed to no earlier than February 2025 to give ArianeGroup time to work through a few post-debut fixes.
On 13 and 14 January, the Ariane 6 core stage stack and two solid-fuel boosters were successfully brought together on the ELA-4 launch pad. While this process was occurring, an Antonov transport plane touched down at Felix Eboué Airport carrying the rocket’s payload, the CSO-3 reconnaissance satellite.
The 3,500-kilogram CSO-3 satellite is the third addition to France’s MUSIS (Multinational Space-based Imaging System) programme. This three-satellite constellation is designed to support defence and security reconnaissance, providing high-resolution imagery for military operations and national security purposes.
After a successful launch, the CSO-3 satellite will be deployed into a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) at an altitude of around 800 kilometres. The payload deployment will occur 1 hour and 6 minutes after liftoff.
A total of five Ariane 6 launches are planned for 2025, including the debut of the Ariane 64, the four-booster variant of the rocket. The first Ariane 64 flight will carry Project Kuiper satellites for Amazon, marking the beginning of Arianespace’s 18-launch commitment to the tech giant.
Quelle: European Spaceflight