The eighth flight of Europe’s rocket Ariane 6 will have a bigger boost: the P120C solid-propellant rocket motor, used as Ariane 6 booster so far, has been upgraded. The new P160C flying on Ariane 6 flight VA269 offers 10% more performance to orbit.
P160C was developed by Europropulsion under contract from ArianeGroup and Avio. Just like P120C, P160C comes in three main parts, its structure is made in Italy, the rocket engine nozzle in France and the igniter in Norway.
After being shipped to Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, the P160C boosters are loaded with 14 tonnes more fuel than P120C and turned into Ariane 6 boosters before being attached to the rocket on the launch pad.
The development of Ariane 6 is another stellar example of European cooperation. The European Space Agency works with an industrial network in 13 European countries, led by prime contractor and design authority ArianeGroup. French space agency CNES manages the range operations at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Arianespace is the launch service provider for this flight for Amazon.