A new generation of European Launch Vehicles

We strive for the future of Europe in space and key to this endeavour is maintaining access to space.

This objective is accomplished by supporting the development of new launch vehicles and next year will be an important year: Vega-C and Ariane 6 will fly for the first time.

Vega-C is an enhanced version of Europe’s current Vega, with increased power and capacity.

Ariane 6 is Europe’s next heavy-lift launcher which will replace Ariane 5. With Ariane 6 the approach is evolving for the assembly and production processes, and also in the sharing of responsibilities between us and Industry.

In parallel to preparing a new generation of launchers, we are also working on its first reusable spacecraft, Space Rider, that will fly on top of a Vega-C and which should be confirmed at Space19+, the Ministerial Conference in Seville in November 2019.

Already, the future of European Space transportation is clearly visible in Kourou where Vega-C and Ariane 6 are step-by-step becoming a reality.

#ESA
#Ariane6
#VegaC

[unvergebeneid]

Don't just copy and paste the code from Ariane 5 over again!

[stefanklass]

4 Vega boosters on Ariane 6, that thing will have quite a lot of liftoff TWR. Should be spectacular to watch.

[sarius]

Amazing what europe is able to develop! I am proud to be european. Go on with your great work esa!

[Skukkix]

For people complaining that it is not reusable and therefore outdated: Independant space acces is crucial for keeping a stance in the space industry and its not meant to be highly profitable, although the new construction process reduces production cost by a big chunk. Confidential military missions should not be trusted to the USA, Russia or China.

[lindqvistsandra]

ESA make´s me proud to be european! :) Great work!

[MP-wdfp]

I’m proud to be European. You guys do such an amazing job and I really enjoy following this channel 🚀 keep up the good work y’all! ✌️

[kaynouky]

ESA is the main reason i’m proud of being European 🇪🇺❤️

[michaelpapadopoulos]

esa stays competitive not with low prices but with excellent reliability. apart from that integer overflow, ariane 5 has been proven extremely reliable. That's why the james webb telescope, an american multibillion dollar project is not being launched by a falcon 9 or delta iv, but by an arianne.

[SkywalkerWroc]

Go Space Raider! Super-exciting project, I'd love to see it being used for at least 1 satellite servicing mission... this spacecraft has so much potential, for both: commercial and scientific applications, it's difficult to underestimate. All the know-how it can bring to Europe... really hope it'll get not only funded, but even expanded! It's one of the most exciting projects in European space sector!

[NPJGlobal]

Bravo ESA et Arianespace, vous rendez l'Europe fière ! :)

[Grunfffff]

Now we can launch european politicians into space

[gabegladeanus]

I'm not European but Im proud of Europeans :)

[NorBEEelectro]

I wonder why in 2019 there are still no plans for vertical landing of the booster or for a larger manned spacecraft.... prospects are not the best for us

[UltiK]

Excellent work ESA. Through your great work, you keep the Europe competitive in Space. You are us futur, keep your eyes in the sky! (Sorry if I did English faults ^^ 🇨🇵)

[akshaypathak]

Hay ESA lots of good wishes from India 🇮🇳🇮🇳🙏

[supersonictumbleweed]

I hope Poland will can into space soon 🇵🇱

[thomasboissier]

Continuez dans vos innovations, vous êtes géniaux !

[thatyougoon]

Space rider sounds like the right way to go

[tomkpunkt]

Looks beautiful for 2010, but in 2020 it looks like a dinosaur.

[alekosb.]

To anyone questioning if the ariane 6 is reusable: NO
Maybe a future version will, but today no.
If you want to compare this to spacex, spacex is a mainly LEO provider, ariane is mainly a GTO provider.

Also, ariane is designed to provide independent access to europe to space, so the objective isn't necessarly to make it commercial

Arianespace is still competitive