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Ariane 6 central core used for testing as it leaves the launcher sssembly building, known in French as the B\u00e2timent Assemblage Lanceurs, BAL, to the launch pad ELA-4 on 11 July 2022 at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.<\/p>\n
This functioning central core was used for testing Europe’s heavy-lift rocket. Under the purple protective covering is Ariane 6’s\u00a0main engine, Vulcain 2.1, which was ignited multiple times on the launch pad to test the complete launch system so the operations\u2019 team at ArianeGroup, France\u2019s space agency CNES, and ESA could fine-tune operations and control software.\u00a0Five countdown runs where done whereby the Ariane 6 was loaded with cryo-propellants.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ariane 6 is the next rocket in a long history of launchers to fly from\u00a0Europe\u2019s Spaceport in French Guiana \u2013 demonstrating the power of multinational cooperation for over five decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n