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The upper stage and main stage for the first Ariane 6 launch arrived at the port of Pariacabo in Kourou, French Guiana on the novel ship, Canop\u00e9e (canopy in French) on 22 February 2024. It is the first custom-built transporter to use sails, reducing emissions and saving on fuel by up to 30%, and on this trip, it has travelled for 10 days covering over 7000 km.<\/p>\n
The hybrid-propulsion vessel is 121 m long and has 37 m tall sails. Canop\u00e9e rotates continuously between stop-offs to load each Ariane 6 stage and other parts and ship them across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe\u2019s spaceport.<\/p>\n
On this trip, Canop\u00e9e brought the central core for Ariane 6\u2019s first flight. Having collected the upper stage from Bremen, Germany, Canop\u00e9e moved on to Le Havre, France, to load the main stage of Ariane 6.<\/p>\n
The next-generation cargo ship has been designed for ArianeGroup to meet the complex requirements of Ariane 6 transport \u2013 the stages and engines of Ariane 6 are high-tech equipment that require delicate care during transport.<\/p>\n
Canop\u00e9e\u2019s structure is tailored to carry large, fragile loads as well as navigate the shallow Kourou river to Pariacabo harbour. From here the various Ariane 6 components are offloaded and transported by road to the new Ariane 6 launch vehicle assembly building just a few kilometres away.<\/p>\n
Here, the launcher stages are unpacked and installed on the assembly line for integration, and finally, liftoff.<\/p>\n
Access the related broadcast quality video material.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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