The new Ariane 6 rocket will close a dark chapter in European space history when the region had no workhorse launcher and no independent access to space.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00It sounds very positive. It sounds very positive.
00:08This siren announces the departure of the Ariane 6 rocket's central core
00:13from the assembly hall en route to the launch pad.
00:18The central core is a cylinder 56 meters long, weighing 50 tons.
00:24It's as big as a 15-floor building, such as Castellbatlló in Barcelona,
00:29the Pirelli Tower in Milan or the Flatiron building in New York.
00:33The role of the rocket's core is key.
00:35It gives the spacecraft the power to launch from the ground and up into space.
00:40Emotions are running high.
00:43Today is a very important moment in the Ariane 6 programme,
00:47the day when we bring the components of the first flight model onto the launch pad.
00:53Ariane 6 is a big issue for Europe
00:56because it will be serving all the needs, from institutional needs of defence, telecommunications,
01:02scientific satellites to the commercial needs of Europe and, of course, beyond.
01:06I'm extremely excited because this is the fruit of more or less 10 years of work
01:12and it's a historical day today.
01:18If everything goes right, through Ariane 6,
01:21Europe will reopen the door to the heavens and regain its independent access to space.