Teams from the European Space Agency, ArianeGroup, and the French space agency CNES have completed an Ariane 6 launch sequence rehearsal.
The test was conducted on 15 December and included a full launch sequence rehearsal, including the removal of the mobile gantry, filling and draining of the rocket’s upper and core stage tanks with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, and an ignition of the core stage’s Vulcain 2.1 was fully ignited for four seconds to test the abort system.
According to an ESA update, the test was “well executed,” going “exactly as planned.”
Towards the end of January 2024, the final Ariane 6 ground test at the Guiana Space Centre will take place. This will involve the rehearsal of disconnecting the upper and lower fueling arms. These arms support the umbilicals that allow for the fueling and draining of the rocket’s liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks.
While testing the rocket’s core stage in French Guiana has been successful, teams testing the upper stage in Lampoldshausen, Germany, haven’t been as fortunate.
Teams at the DLR facility conducted an upper stage hot fire test on December 7. The aim of the test was to evaluate the stage’s performance under “extreme and unexpected conditions.” Two minutes after the ignition of the stage’s Vinci engine, the test was automatically aborted after sensors detected that “some parameters had gone beyond predetermined thresholds.”
“This HFT-4 test went beyond the normal flight profile for Ariane 6,” an ESA statement explained, “The stage will not operate in such a test configuration on the inaugural flight.”
ArianeGroup is currently investigating the reason for the early abort. The ESA statement explained that the investigation would be completed by mid-January 2024. The miaden flight of Ariane 6 is still scheduled to take place between 15 June and 31 July 2024.
