Liftoff Time/Launch Window | July 09, 2024 – 19:00 UTC | 16:00 GFT |
|---|---|
Mission Name | ESA Rideshare/Demo Flight of Ariane 6 |
Launch Provider | Arianespace |
Customer | European Space Agency |
Rocket | Ariane 6 |
Launch Location | ELA-4, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana, France |
Payload mass | Up to 10.3 tonnes into low Earth orbit |
Where are the satellites going? | Low Earth orbit |
Will they be attempting to recover the first stage? | No |
Where will the first stage land? | It will crash into the Atlantic Ocean |
Will they be attempting to recover the fairings? | No |
Are these fairings new? | Yes |
How’s the weather looking? | TBD |
This will be the: | – 1st launch of Ariane 6 – 1st launch from pad ELA-4 – 1st mission for ESA in 2024 – 130th orbital launch attempt of 2024 |
Where to watch | Official livestream Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, will be streaming at T-MM minutes; come ask questions and join the conversation live! |
What’s All This Mean?
For the first time ever, the European Space Agency (ESA) will launch the Ariane 6 rocket, powered by a single Vulcain 2.1 engines and two P120C solid rocket motors. Ariane 6 will carry a host of payloads on a rideshare mission, which will all be deplyed into a low Earth orbit at various times. This will also be the first time a rocket has launched from pad ELA-4 in Kourou, French Guiana. Read more about the payload deploy and launch timeline on ESA’s website.
