ARIANE 6: Problem during launch! What impact does this have on ESA's European space program?

ARIANE 6: Problem during launch! What impact does this have on ESA's European space program?
The new European launch vehicle Ariane 6 has been launched into space for the first time. According to the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana, the launch was initially successful. However, a problem occurred later. An auxiliary engine in the upper stage initially ignited, but then stopped again, meaning that the last two satellites on board could not be properly deployed.
Our space expert Professor Ulrich Walter explained that although the rocket took off and everything ignited well at first, there were problems with the ignition at the end. The upper stage, which was developed by Germany, had to ignite twice to bring the satellites into the correct orbit. However, the second ignition only worked for a short time because an auxiliary engine that regulates the pressure on the tanks was not working properly. As a result, the satellites did not land in the correct orbit.
In addition, the upper stage would have had to re-ignite after ignition to launch the rocket into the Pacific, which also did not happen. This means that the upper stage now remains in orbit as space junk. Engineers in Bremen, where the upper stage was built, face the challenge of fixing this error. This is expected to take months and delay the next launch date.
Despite these problems, there is also some positive news: it was the first launch and things rarely go perfectly the first time. The fact that 90% of the mission was successful is a great achievement. These errors can be fixed, even if it takes time and additional resources.
Compared to SpaceX, which is led by Elon Musk and has now carried out far more launches, Ariane 6 faces the challenge of remaining economically competitive. While Musk works with simple and fast test strategies, ESA does not have the same financial means for such risky methods. Nevertheless, Ariane 6 remains an important step to secure Europe's access to space.
#ariane6 #spacex #worldnewschannel
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Video created in 2024