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Europe cancels prepared upgrades for Ariane 6 rocket
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In the two years since it made a largely successful debut, Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket has launched eight missions, all of which reached orbit safely.
Key facts
- On Thursday, European Spaceflight reported that “Block 3” upgrades for the Ariane 6 rocket have been shelved by the European Space Agency
- Arianespace hasn’t publicly disclosed the cost of an Ariane 6 launch, but it is likely somewhere in the range of 80 million to 100 million euros
- Europe’s current goal is to fly the Ariane 6 rocket nine or 10 times a year, but given the growing global demand for launch and lack of capacity, there is some discussion about increasing the number
- Europe invested about 3.6 billion euros in the development of the Ariane 6 rocket and its launch site in French Guiana, but that’s not the end of it
Summary
The large, expendable rocket has a capacity of more than 20 metric tons to low-Earth orbit. However, even though the Ariane 6 rocket has had a successful debut, its future is clouded by high costs. On Thursday, European Spaceflight reported that “Block 3” upgrades for the Ariane 6 rocket have been shelved by the European Space Agency. The cancellation of this upgrade has implications for some of the European Space Agency’s science missions, including a probe to Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus.