Ariane-6 mock-up installed at launchpad for tests
The European Space Agency yesterday announced that it has installed an Ariane-6 full scale mock-up at its launchpad in French Guiana in preparation for tank and launch procedure tests.
The Ariane 6 combined tests model is highly representative of the flight model. It consists of the core stage and the upper stage, which make up the central core, as well as three pylons shaped like the rocket’s solid boosters and a fully representative but inert mockup of the fourth booster.
The Ariane 6 combined tests model central core was precisely mated in the purpose-built launcher assembly building, where this task is carried out horizontally. Automated guidance vehicles then brought the assembled core to the launch and, working with the crane at the mobile gantry, raised it to its vertical position.
The date of the actual first launch has not been announced, though ESA has officially admitted that it will not occur this year as hoped.
The European Space Agency yesterday announced that it has installed an Ariane-6 full scale mock-up at its launchpad in French Guiana in preparation for tank and launch procedure tests.
The Ariane 6 combined tests model is highly representative of the flight model. It consists of the core stage and the upper stage, which make up the central core, as well as three pylons shaped like the rocket’s solid boosters and a fully representative but inert mockup of the fourth booster.
The Ariane 6 combined tests model central core was precisely mated in the purpose-built launcher assembly building, where this task is carried out horizontally. Automated guidance vehicles then brought the assembled core to the launch and, working with the crane at the mobile gantry, raised it to its vertical position.
The date of the actual first launch has not been announced, though ESA has officially admitted that it will not occur this year as hoped.