Europe’s Next-Generation Rocket ‘Ariane 6’ Achieves Partial Success Due to Unexpected Issue on First Launch

The next-generation launcher Ariane 6 of the European Space Agency (ESA) successfully conducted its first launch on July 9 from the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana, South America.

However, an issue occurred during the upper stage engine re-ignition process, leading to the failure of deploying some payloads, resulting in it being evaluated as a “partial success.”

This launch was an important test to confirm the potential of Ariane 6 as a next-generation space launcher.

The rocket’s liftoff proceeded smoothly as expected, and two minutes after liftoff, when it reached an altitude of 62 km, the solid fuel side boosters successfully separated.

Subsequently, the rocket maintained stable flight and succeeded in deploying payloads into space in three instances.

However, a problem arose during the re-ignition process of the upper stage engine for the deployment of the fourth payload.

A technical defect occurred in the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) responsible for re-igniting the upper stage engine, leading to the failure to send the last two payloads to their planned orbits.

The APU also provides the necessary thrust for the upper stage of the rocket to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrate after completing its mission. Consequently, the disintegration of the rocket’s upper stage did not occur as planned.

The European Space Agency intends to use the data obtained from this launch failure to continue improving Ariane 6.

Additionally, ESA plans to focus on developing technical solutions to ensure the swift disposal of decommissioned space systems to address the issue of space debris.

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