ArianeGroup / Arianespace · Operational · eu · Launch Vehicle
Ariane 6
Europe's heavy-lift workhorse in two variants (A62/A64); 4 launches in 2025.
Verified 2026-09-24 · First flight 2024-07-09
Systems cutaway
Vulcain 2.1 LOX/LH2 core engine; 2 or 4× P120C solid strap-on boosters; Vinci restartable LOX/LH2 upper stage (up to 4 reignitions for multi-orbit deployment).
5.4 m core diameter; 62 m total height (A64); composite structures throughout.
Slosh-damping propellant management; GPS/GLONASS navigation for Vinci deorbit burn.
Specs & Metrics
- Payload to LEO ↑ better
- 21,650 kg
- Ariane 64 maximum; A62 max 10,350 kg
- Maximum payload mass deliverable to low Earth orbit (~200–400 km circular), in the vehicle's stated reference configuration.
- Payload to GTO ↑ better
- 11,500 kg
- Ariane 64; A62 max 4,500 kg
- Maximum payload mass deliverable to geostationary transfer orbit (~185 × 35,786 km), in the stated reference config.
- Liftoff Thrust ↑ better
- 15370 kN
- Ariane 64 with 4 boosters
- Total first-stage thrust at liftoff (sea-level), in kilonewtons, summing all active engines and solid strap-ons.
- Liftoff Mass ↓ better
- 870 t
- Ariane 64; A62 approx 540 t
- Total vehicle mass at liftoff including propellant, payload, and all stages, in metric tonnes.
- Vehicle Height ↓ better
- 62 m
- Ariane 64; A62 is 56 m
- Full stack height at liftoff, in metres, including fairing or spacecraft.
- Launches in 2025 ↑ better
- 4
- Total number of launch attempts conducted in calendar year 2025 (Jan 1 – Dec 31 UTC).
Subsystems
Vulcain 2.1 LOX/LH2 core engine; 2 or 4× P120C solid strap-on boosters; Vinci restartable LOX/LH2 upper stage (up to 4 reignitions for multi-orbit deployment).
5.4 m core diameter; 62 m total height (A64); composite structures throughout.
Slosh-damping propellant management; GPS/GLONASS navigation for Vinci deorbit burn.
Program roadmap
- achieved
First Ariane 64 (four-booster) flight — VA267, 32 Amazon Leo satellites (LE-01)
2026-02-12↗ - achieved
First flight with the uprated P160C boosters — VA269, 36 Amazon Leo satellites (LE-03)
2026-06-17↗ - slipped
2026 schedule adjusted for extra production-line checks (a reported turbopump anomaly); reports put it at one or two more launches this year, not three or four
2026↗ - planned
Target rate of 9–10 Ariane 6 launches a year, as early as 2027
2027↗