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\t\t\t\t\t\t14\/03\/2024<\/span> With Europe\u2019s new Ariane 6 rocket now at its spaceport in French Guiana, the passengers it will launch to space are getting ready to be added to the top of the tall new rocket. Ariane 6 will launch several satellites, deployers and experiments from space agencies, companies, research institutes, universities and young professionals on its first flight.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cAriane 6 is designed to be versatile, offering space actors bespoke launch options all while keeping costs down,\u201d says Michel Bonnet, head of Ariane 6 missions and system engineering and ESA\u2019s lead for the Ariane 6 inaugural flight. \u201cThe varied missions launching on the first flight, from nine countries and dozens of organisations, are a perfect demonstration of the team spirit behind this rocket and the design ethos that underpins it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n From\u00a0established players like\u00a0NASA\u00a0to students designing their first ever satellite, these missions will\u00a0measure\u00a0gamma rays,\u00a0track wildlife,\u00a0test self-healing solar cells,\u00a0confirm the theory of black body radiation and\u00a0more.\u00a0There’s a smart-farming satellite, a radio beacon demonstrator, experiments that will remain attached to the rocket’s payload \u2018adaptor\u2019 and even capsules destined to reenter Earth\u2019s atmosphere to test new materials \u2013 Ariane 6\u2019s first flight will be packed with technology as its first payloads are sent on their way into space.\u00a0<\/p>\n This plethora of missions is being supplied by three types of organisations: commercial companies, space agencies and universities. Together they have been building hardware to test and prove their technology works in space; satellites to measure weather on Earth or in the Solar System; study the Sun and perform other science experiments.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Four deployers, including the multi-CubeSat deployers RAMI and EXOpod, will release\u00a0satellites away from the Ariane 6 upper stage. \u00a0<\/p>\n The two reentry capsules and nine satellites that are set to fly free are placed at the top of the rocket in order of their release, perfectly timed to be set on their way after leaving their Ariane 6 nest, 600 km above Earth.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cubesat deployers are like mini launchers in their own right, orchestrating a series of spring-loaded ejections to shoot one or multiple miniature satellites from the Ariane launcher at the right time, speed and in the right direction to set them on their way. As the CubeSats don\u2019t have their own propulsion, they will stay in the same orbit Ariane 6 releases them into.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Not all the missions will fly free. One mission, YPSat, will stay attached to the upper stage of the Ariane 6 to record the whole mission from launch to end. Four other experiments will remain fixed, performing their work for the duration of the rocket\u2019s flight and returning altogether in unison, like skydivers holding tight for their Earth descent.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cThe first flight of a new rocket is always an astounding moment as there are hundreds of thousands of details\u00a0that have to work in perfect harmony \u2013 for the first time together in full,\u201d says Lo\u00efc Bourillet, head of ESA\u2019s Collective Launch Service Procurement.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRather than only launching an inert dummy payload as a stand in for larger satellites, we have a large platform that also offers a unique opportunity to accommodate smaller, data gathering payloads. I am incredibly pleased with the scale of space hardware that has been designed and built. It\u2019s a testament to the inventive minds of our generation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n ESA\u2019s young professional satellite, YPsat, will take pictures and video of the Ariane 6 rocket itself once it flies free. Tatjana Mandil, a communications officer for YPsat when she is not working as a trainee engineer on lunar Gateway modules, says \u201cA launcher\u2019s first flight is always much anticipated and attracts lots of attention. It is going to be wild to know our team\u2019s satellite is at the top of ESA\u2019s new rocket, and we hope to add to the spectacle when we can share the video of the satellites releasing into Earth orbit.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Each passenger will be highlighted in an individual article over the next few months.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t274<\/span> views<\/small><\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2<\/span> likes<\/small><\/span><\/p>\n<\/header>\nIn brief<\/h2>\n
In-depth<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nReady, set, deploy <\/h2>\n
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nMany missions <\/h2>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAll eyes on Ariane 6 <\/h2>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\n \tName<\/b><\/td>\n \tOrganisation<\/b><\/td>\n \tMission type<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \tSpaceCase SC-X01<\/b><\/td>\n \tArianeGroup<\/td>\n \tReentry capsule\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \tBikini Capsule<\/b><\/td>\n \tThe Exploration Company<\/td>\n \tReentry capsule\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \tPariSat<\/b><\/td>\n \tGaref Aerospatial<\/td>\n \tExperiment\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \tPeregrinus<\/b><\/td>\n \tSint-Pieterscollege\u00a0<\/td>\n \tExperiment\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \tLIFI<\/b><\/td>\n \tOLEDCOMM\u00a0<\/td>\n \tExperiment\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \tSIDLOC<\/b><\/td>\n \tLibre Space\u00a0<\/td>\n \tExperiment\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \tYPSat\/Eye2Sky<\/b><\/td>\n \tESA<\/td>\n \tExperiment\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \tOOV-Cube<\/b><\/td>\n \tRapidCube\u00a0<\/td>\n \tCubesat & deployer\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \tCurium One<\/b><\/td>\n \tPlanetary Transportation System (PTS)\u00a0<\/td>\n \tCubesat 12U\u00a0& deployer\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \tRAMI<\/b><\/td>\n \tUARX Space\u00a0<\/td>\n \tDeployer 12U\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \tExoPod NOVA<\/b><\/td>\n \tExoLaunch\u00a0<\/td>\n \tDeployer 16U\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \tISTSAT<\/b><\/td>\n \tESA Education Office\/University of Lisbon (PT)\u00a0<\/td>\n \tCubesat\u00a01U\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \t3Cat4<\/b><\/td>\n \tESA Education Office\/University of Catalunya (ES)\u00a0<\/td>\n \tCubesat\u00a01U\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \tGRBBEta<\/b><\/td>\n \tSpacemanic\u00a0<\/td>\n \tCubesat\u00a01U\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \tROBUSTA-3<\/b><\/td>\n \tCSUM<\/td>\n \tCubesat\u00a03U\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \tCURIE<\/b><\/td>\n \tNASA<\/td>\n \tCubesat\u00a02x3U\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \tREPLICATOR<\/b><\/td>\n \tRIDE!space \/ Orbital Matter\u00a0<\/td>\n \tCubesat\u00a03U\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \tBuzzzer-1<\/b><\/td>\n \tRIDE!space \/ Unseenlabs\u00a0<\/td>\n \tCubesat 6U\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table><\/div>\n