After twenty years of good and loyal service, the Ariane 5 launcher was to bow out on June 15, before the last flight of the mythical rocket was finally postponed to July 4. A few days before this last launch which will be given from Kourou, and while a new page will open for ArianeGroup with the arrival of Ariane 6, the first launch of which is expected by the end of the year, 20 minutes asked Gilles Fonblanc, secretary general of ArianeGroup, and director of the Girondin sites of the industrialist in Saint-Médard and Haillan.
The last Ariane 5 launch, which was scheduled for June 15, has been postponed due to an anomaly. What happened ?
A launch delay is quite common in our business because every detail counts. And among the many tests that lead to a launch, we sometimes find non-conformities… This is precisely why we test upstream, to discover any problems before the flight. In the case of the VA 261 launch, it was a doubt about the non-quality of a pyrotechnic line that made us decide to postpone the flight for safety reasons. Even if it was only a matter of redundancy, there was no question of derogating from the quality rules which made Ariane launchers reliable. The launch is scheduled for July 4.
The end of Ariane 5, is it a big page that turns?
Ariane 5 is a reminder of the exceptional reliability of the Ariane program, which has provided Europe with autonomous access to space for forty years. This launcher is the showcase of successful European space cooperation to the benefit of European strategic autonomy: its production mobilized a sector made up of more than 600 partners, including 350 SMEs, spread over twelve European States. For two decades, this exceptional reliability and precision enabled Ariane 5 to meet the needs of European institutional markets and dominate the global commercial market.
Today, all of ArianeGroup’s industrial sites are fully focused on the launch of Ariane 6. Is it still planned for the end of the year?
Our teams in the workshops have their sights set on the first Ariane 6 flight. We are now in the home stretch leading to the Ariane 6 qualification flight and its gradual ramp-up to honor the contracts signed. by our subsidiary Arianespace. Ariane 6 is the launcher that meets market needs, with 28 orders already placed with our subsidiary Arianespace. Thus the challenge of Ariane 6 is not limited solely to the success of the first flight, it continues until ArianeGroup reaches full operational capacity, ie for nine to ten launches per year.
This is part of a context of renewed interest in space in recent years, in which the Ariane 6 launcher does he intend to take part?
The official kick-off took place in December 2014, during the ministerial conference in Luxembourg where the Member States of the European Space Agency endorsed the launch of a new family of European launchers, to meet new needs due to growing competitiveness. in this market, and the need to reduce the cost of launchers. Ariane 5 is an extremely reliable and high-performance launcher, but it is a launcher that was no longer competitive vis-à-vis, in particular, American launchers. On July 1, 2016, the creation of Airbus Safran Launchers (now ArianeGroup), bringing together equally the launcher activities of the Airbus and Safran groups, solidifies the commitment of industrial players. The creation of a new family of European launchers around Ariane 6 is the best response to ensure Europe, on the one hand, reliable and competitive access to space, and on the other hand, an ability to meet the new needs of the international market, in particular for satellite constellations.
Because the challenges in terms of competitiveness are still just as great in 2023, if not more?
The heart of the Ariane 5 market was the large telecommunications satellites, now there is the development of satellite constellations, such as Starlink (SpaceX) which is much talked about, OneWeb currently being deployed, and Kuiper (Amazon) for which Ariane 6 received an order for eighteen launchers. And the European Commission’s recent decision to launch a European constellation for secure connectivity confirms the choice of Ariane 6.
What will Ariane 6 do to meet these challenges?
It is a “Swiss army knife” launcher, that is to say capable of carrying conventional satellites as well as constellations. And we have the ability to position satellites with great precision, thanks to an upper stage equipped with a re-ignitable motor. What is essential for the customer is that its satellite is positioned in the right place in its orbit, in order to guarantee it a maximum lifespan.
Another hallmark of Ariane 6 is the automation of its production, which is also done in a logic of cost reduction.
The cost of this launcher will be halved compared to Ariane 5, which is very significant. For this, it was necessary to go to the essentials in the design of the launcher, by simplifying the number of equipment and parts.
We have also sought to reduce assembly times, therefore to automate – when possible – with robots, some of which are unique in the world. While retaining a lot of human know-how, we have entered the digital era, which will allow us to respond to the speeds which will accelerate: we will have to manufacture more launchers to launch them at a frequency of about ten per year.
Another novelty compared to Ariane 5: final assembly will take place directly on the launch pad in French Guiana.
Indeed, the components are manufactured on our various industrial sites in mainland France and Germany, and are sent by sea to French Guiana where assembly takes place at the foot of the launch pad. And we have moved from vertical integration on Ariane 5 to horizontal integration on Ariane 6, which allows for greater fluidity on assembly lines, and saves time.
It should also be emphasized that this is truly a European programme…
ArianeGroup is made up of 8,000 “rocket makers”, a melting pot of skills, know-how and technologies almost unique in the world, thanks to continuous investment and reinforced cooperation between European states. Developing a new heavy launcher is not a “mass sport”.