Arianespace Ariane 6

Ariane 6 is an active European heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle that made its first flight on 2024-07-09 (VA262, Ariane 62 configuration) from ELA-4 at Guiana Space Centre, Kourou, French Guiana.^[1] The vehicle uses a cryogenic core (H140, Vulcain 2.1 engine, LH2/LOX) and a reignitable cryogenic upper stage (H30, Vinci engine, up to 4 reignitions, LH2/LOX), with two configurations distinguished by booster count: Ariane 62 carries two P120C solid strap-on boosters, while Ariane 64 carries four.^[2]

Capacities differ substantially between configurations. Ariane 62 lifts up to 10,300 kg to LEO, 7,200 kg to SSO, and 4,500 kg to GTO.^[2] Ariane 64 lifts up to 21,600 kg to LEO, 15,500 kg to SSO, and 11,500 kg to GTO; a conflicting figure of 4,100 kg GTO for A64 appears in one community source and may reflect a different orbit reference.^[3][2] Both configurations carry a 5.4 m diameter fairing.^[2] Planned EO payloads include MetOp-SG A1 and future Sentinel series missions.^[1]