Ariane 6
Arianespace
Ariane 6 is Europe's current flagship heavy-lift launch vehicle, built by ArianeGroup and operated by Arianespace, offered in two-booster (A62) and four-booster (A64) configurations.
Technical specifications
- Configurations
- Ariane 62 (2 solid boosters) and Ariane 64 (4 solid boosters)
- Height
- 63 m
- Diameter
- 5.4 m
- Stages
- 2 (cryogenic core stages)
- First stage engine
- Vulcain 2.1 (LOX/LH2), ~1,370 kN thrust
- Second stage engine
- Vinci (LOX/LH2, restartable), ~180 kN thrust, multiple restarts
- Solid rocket boosters
- P120C boosters, ~4,780 kN thrust each; 2 on A62, 4 on A64
- Payload to LEO (A62)
- ~10,350 kg
- Payload to GTO (A62)
- ~4,500 kg
- Payload to LEO (A64)
- ~21,650 kg
- Payload to GTO (A64)
- ~11,500 kg
- Launch site
- Guiana Space Centre, Kourou, French Guiana
- Flight heritage
- Maiden flight VA262 (Ariane 62), 9 July 2024: reached orbit, deployed payloads, but upper-stage APU anomaly prevented final deorbit burn. VA263 (March 2025) delivered CSO-3 with fully successful deorbit burn; further 2025 missions included MetOp-SG, Sentinel-1D, Galileo satellites. Ariane 64 variant debuted February 2026 (VA267) carrying Amazon Leo constellation satellites.
About
Ariane 6 is a two-stage, modular expendable launch vehicle developed by ArianeGroup for ESA and CNES, and commercially operated by Arianespace from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana. It succeeds Ariane 5 as Europe’s primary heavy-lift rocket, targeting both institutional missions and commercial satellite operators, including large constellations such as Amazon’s Leo/Kuiper network. The vehicle comes in two configurations: Ariane 62, with two P120C solid rocket boosters; and Ariane 64, with four P120C boosters. Both variants share a cryogenic core: a first stage powered by the Vulcain 2.1 engine, and a restartable second stage powered by the Vinci engine. Ariane 6 conducted its maiden flight (VA262) on 9 July 2024; the launch successfully reached orbit and deployed its payloads, but the upper stage’s auxiliary power unit suffered an anomaly that prevented completion of the final deorbit burn. Since then, Ariane 6 has flown a growing cadence including the first commercial flight (VA263, March 2025), European Earth-observation and navigation payloads through 2025, and the debut of the four-booster Ariane 64 variant in February 2026 carrying Amazon’s Leo broadband constellation satellites.
Documentation
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