The European Space Agency (ESA) recently performed a lengthy trial firing of the Ariane 6 prototype rocket engine on November 23, marking one of the last substantial tests before an official launch date can be determined. The prime contractor for the rocket is ArianeGroup and the testing took place in French Guiana.
The Ariane 6's Vulcain 2.1 engine was tested with a scheduled firing duration of 470 seconds. This test simulates a complete burn of a core stage during an actual launch. The performance of the engine appeared to change during the final minute of the burn, but the engine was still declared as having "passed" the test run.
Analyst QuickTake: The series of delays from its scheduled launch in 2020 has added to the costs of the Ariane 6 program, which was initially estimated to be ~EUR 4 billion (USD 4.4 billion). The launch vehicle drastically reduces production costs through new fabrication techniques and upgraded technology.
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