Ariane 6 and Vega C—a new generation of European Launch Vehicles

ESA strives for the future of Europe in space and key to this endeavor is maintaining access to space.

This objective is accomplished by supporting the development of new launch vehicles and next year will be an important year: Vega-C and Ariane 6 will fly for the first time.

Vega-C is an enhanced version of Europe's current Vega, with increased power and capacity.

Ariane 6 is Europe's next heavy-lift launcher which will replace Ariane 5. With Ariane 6 the approach is evolving for the assembly and production processes, and also in the sharing of responsibilities between ESA and Industry.

In parallel to preparing a new generation of launchers, ESA is also working on its first reusable spacecraft, Space Rider, that will fly on top of a Vega-C and which should be confirmed at Space19+, the Ministerial Conference in Seville in November 2019.

Already, the future of European Space transportation is clearly visible in Kourou where Vega-C and Ariane 6 are step-by-step becoming a reality.

This A & B Roll shows the latest images and also a new animation of Ariane 6 activities at Europe's Spaceport. It includes an interview with Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA Director of Space Transportation, in English, German and French.