The main and upper stages for the second flight of the Ariane 6 rocket have arrived in French Guiana ahead of its Q1 2025 launch. Accompanying the rocket stages was a helicopter hitchhiker for the aerial logistics service provider Helicojyp.
In an 18 November update, ArianeGroup announced that the main and upper stages of the second Ariane 6 rocket had left the port of Bremen, embarking on their transatlantic journey aboard the transport ship Canopée. On 28 November, Canopée arrived at the Pariacabo Port in French Guiana to unload its precious cargo.
Canopée is 121 metres long and features four rigid sails, each measuring 360 square metres. The sails reduce the ship’s emissions by as much as 35%. When conducting a full Ariane 6 transport mission, there is little to no space for additional passengers. On its most recent journey, however, it had space for an Airbus H125 helicopter, which is capable of carrying up to 1.4 tonnes of cargo.
“We were approached about two weeks ago to see if we could transport a helicopter,” explained Loïc Ménager, Arianespace’s Vice President of Operations in French Guiana. “It’s completely unusual for Ariane, but it also demonstrates the flexibility of the fantastic tool that is Canopée.”
“Without this assistance, we would have lost three weeks waiting for the helicopter to arrive. ArianeGroup really helped us out, allowing us to quickly transport the machine from mainland France,” explained Nicolas Nerenhausen, a technician at Helicojyp.
Preparations for the Second Ariane 6 Flight
The main and upper stages of the Ariane 6 rocket will now be transported to the Launcher Assembly Building. Here, the stages will be integrated into the rocket’s central core. It will then be transferred to the launch pad where its boosters will be attached. The two P120 solid-fuel boosters for the flight have already been delivered, and integration activities are underway.
Once fully integrated, the mission’s fairing-encapsulated payload will be stacked. The rocket will carry the CSO-3 spy satellite for the French armed forces.
While the second Ariane 6 flight had initially been expected to launch before the end of 2024, Arianespace announced last month that the flight had been pushed to no earlier than 2025.
