Ariane 6 is out !

This operation is part of a dress rehearsal representative of a launch sequence. The retraction of the mobile gantry is the culmination of the functional tests carried out to date, and precedes the ignition of the Vulcain 2.1 main stage engine on the launch pad. This rehearsal allows the hot-fire testing sequence to be tested, minimising the risk of contingencies during the final sequence.

For several months now, the integrated ArianeGroup/CNES/ESA teams have been carrying out so-called "combined" tests at Kourou, to check and qualify the interfaces between the launcher and its launch pad. Various rehearsals are carried out, in line with the launch sequence, to qualify the various functions and operations leading up to lift-off, step by step.

Before retracting the mobile gantry, the teams carried out functional tests on the avionics systems. This "dry run" enabled all the launcher's avionics chains to be powered up and to reach a stable and reproducible configuration, initiate the final synchronised sequence and "hand over" to the flight programme to ignite the Vulcain 2.1 engine.

Watch this video to find out how this operation took place.