Ariane 6 media briefing – September 2023

Watch the replay of the media briefing and the question-and-answer session outlining the progress achieved and the upcoming steps in the Ariane 6 development test campaign. Updates are given on tests conducted at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, and at the German Aerospace Center DLR’s technical centre in Lampoldshausen, Germany.

The briefing was held on 4 September 2023 from ESA’s Headquarters in Paris, France. Participants included:

Josef Aschbacher, Director General, ESA

Martin Sion, CEO, ArianeGroup

Philippe Baptiste, Chairman and CEO, CNES

Stéphane Israël, CEO, Arianespace

Toni Tolker-Nielsen, Director of Space Transportation, ESA

Carine Leveau, Director of Space Transportation, CNES

Stefan Schlechtriem, Director of Lampoldshausen, DLR

The Ariane 6 launcher task force consists of top management at ESA, launch base prime contractor and France’s space agency CNES, launcher system prime contractor ArianeGroup and launch service provider Arianespace. This group reports regularly on progress being made towards the first flight of Ariane 6.

The video shown during the briefing was of tests of the full Ariane 6 upper stage – including the new Vinci engine and a smaller Auxiliary Power Unit (APU). They took place on 1 September on a purpose-built test bench at DLR’s engine test centre in Lampoldshausen, Germany. Watch the video in high-resolution here.

Access the related broadcast quality video material.