The new European launcher Ariane 6 knew its inaugural flight on July 9, 2024, a key milestone for our continent. At a time when the European Union considerably rises in power in the spatial field (Copernicus of the Earth Observation, Galileo of satellite navigation, Iris2 From telecommunications constellation), Ariane 6 is an essential constituent of European sovereignty.
In addition, by the simple launch guarantee it provides, Ariane 6 explicitly or implicitly credits the offers of our satellite industry on the international market, thus contributing to the strengthening of it.
Its predecessors Ariane 1/2/3/4 and Ariane 5 having each been exploited for twenty years, the assets of Ariane 6 have been built to allow the same operating period.
The importance of space systems for our society, our economy and our public policies has continued to increase in recent decades. Spatial telecommunications, earth observation systems (including meteorology), navigation have become real vault keys for essential capacities for many economic sectors (transport, communications, energy, agriculture, etc.), but also for defense or, more generally, for our sovereignty.
Spatial systems greatly contribute to decision -making. Indeed, thanks to their non-intrusive access to all areas of the globe, the space observation space systems, particularly those providing high resolution imaging, as well as those of intelligence of electromagnetic origin (ROEM, for the detection, location and technical characterization of electromagnetic transmitters that are radiocommunications or radars), are precious situations.
Space, place of influence and strategy
The space also contributes to our freedom of action and to the strengthening of the efficiency of our armed forces. Recent conflicts and military operations have seen an increasingly intensive use of space tools. These make it possible, in fact, to have, for an operation in any point in the globe and almost without delay, capacities (command, control, communication, information, environmental data, location/navigation, etc.) allowing our armies to benefit from tactical and operative superiority over all of their commitment theaters.
Finally, mastery of space tools is an asset for our foreign policy thanks to the credibility and the strategic stature it brings. It also constitutes a showcase testifying to the technological level of our achievements.
By covering very extensive areas, sometimes difficult to access, in a low period of time and with high repetitiveness, the observation of the earth since space is essential to discover, monitor, measure and interpret physical, chemical, biological or human phenomena whose monitoring and anticipation are important for public policies at different levels, from regional to the World Cup. Climatic questions, agricultural or natural resources forecasts, occupation and regional planning are all examples of determining spatial contribution.
The space has become, in a few years, an essential factor in civil security. The combination of spatial earth observation tools, for the forecasting of disasters and then for the inventory, and telecommunications and navigation tools, for the field intervention, considerably increases the effectiveness of help, while the disaster has generally neutralized local land. For the same reasons, these space tools facilitate the reconstruction phase.
An imminent launch
Our sovereignty requires that these space systems which have become essential to it be launched by means that are specific to us: this is the raison d'être of the Ariane program and, in particular, of the last Ariane 6 model.
Ariane 6 is perfectly suited to institutional and commercial spatial missions. Its two versions A62 (2 lateral auxiliary propellants) and A64 (4 lateral auxiliary propellants), combined with its rillable upper floor engine (that of Ariane 5 was not), allow it to cover a wide range of performance and thus respond optimally to very varied orbit requests:
- Low orbit (<2,000 km altitude) for the observation of the land or the telecommunications constellations;
- Average orbit for Galileo (around 15,000-25,000 km above sea level), the European satellite navigation system;
- Geostationary orbit (36,000 km altitude), for telecommunications or meteorology satellites;
- “Exotic” orbits for certain scientific missions;
- Missions in the solar system.
In fact, Ariane 6 replaces two different launchers: Ariane 5 and Soyuz. In doing so, it allows an increase in cadence compared to Ariane 5, which is likely to improve technical-operational reliability as well as competitiveness, the fixed costs of a launch system being significant.
In addition to this cadence effect, a modernized production tool and an optimized definition of Ariane 6 will contribute to a reduction in unit costs of launching around 40 % compared to Ariane 5.
Ariane 6, like its predecessors, will benefit from all the advantages and skills of the Guyanese space center (CSG):
- An ideal latitude maximizing performance: close to the equator, the CSG allows you to immediately have the right inclination of orbit for the geostationary as well as to benefit from the maximum sling effect of the rotation of the earth;
- A coastal orientation making it possible to cover all the orbits by launches towards the sea, safely for populations and goods;
- Minimum seismic and cyclonic risks;
- A know-how and professionalism of the teams based on half a century of launch operations.
Developed under the contracting authority of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the double project management of Arianegroup for the launcher and the National Center for Spatial Studies (CNES) for the shooting and the adaptations of the launch base, Ariane 6 was able to take advantage of the know-how accumulated in the European industry thanks to the successive programs of launch systems, but also of ballistic missiles.
It should be noted that it shares some of its elements with the Vega C launcher, also developed by ESA to cover missions requiring lower performance, including the solid propellant P120C.
