The European Space Agency (ESA) announced Friday that it has chosen 11 scientific experiments and microsatellites developed by universities and start-ups to board them free of charge on board the first Ariane 6 flight, scheduled for the end of the year.
The first flight of the European heavy launcher is a test flight, known as a qualification flight, of the rocket officially scheduled for the second half of the year from the Guiana Space Center (CSG) in Kourou.
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The rocket will be able to carry up to 11.5 tons to thousands of kilometers, but for its test flight, it had to travel empty to low orbit, a few hundred kilometers above sea level.
In the fall, ESA therefore launched a call for interest to allow satellites developed by small players to take place on board free of charge.
Satellites developed by European universities
The agency has thus selected four scientific experiments intended to test a theory on electromagnetic radiation.
The rocket will also carry seven small satellites, ranging from 1.3 kg to 26 kg developed by Portuguese, Spanish or German universities, Slovak or French start-ups.
Before the qualification firing, an important step is planned from April with the combined tests in Kourou where the rocket and the new launch pad built for it will be tested.
The actual launch date will largely depend on the progress of these trials.
The 11 launches following the inaugural launch of Ariane 6 have at this stage been marketed by Ariane 6.