Important parts contributed The new Ariane 6 rocket also flies under the Swiss flag
Important components of the rocket are manufactured in Germany. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
The maiden flight of Ariane 6 was eagerly awaited.
Image: dpa
Esa praises the rocket as flexible and modular.
Image: dpa
The flight of the rocket takes just under three hours.
Image: dpa
In the morning local time, a scaffold was still in place around the rocket.
Image: dpa
Shortly after the launch of the rocket, cheers erupted in Kourou.
Image: dpa
Important components of the rocket are manufactured in Germany. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
The maiden flight of Ariane 6 was eagerly awaited.
Image: dpa
Esa praises the rocket as flexible and modular.
Image: dpa
The flight of the rocket takes just under three hours.
Image: dpa
In the morning local time, a scaffold was still in place around the rocket.
Image: dpa
Shortly after the launch of the rocket, cheers erupted in Kourou.
Image: dpa
The new European launcher Ariane 6 is also flying thanks to Switzerland. Switzerland is one of 13 countries involved in the Ariane program. Swiss companies have also contributed important parts of the rocket.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Together with 12 other countries, Switzerland is involved in the new European launcher Ariane 6.
- Important parts of the rocket come from the Swiss company Beyond-Gravity.
- The company ApcoTechnologies, based in Vaud, has built a part for the attachment and the booster cap.
The tip of the rocket comes from the Swiss company Beyond-Gravity. It built the so-called payload fairing, which serves to protect the satellites that are launched into space with the rocket. Depending on which satellites are being transported, it is 14 or 20 meters long. Three minutes and 39 seconds after launch, the payload fairing separates from the rocket and releases the transported satellites.
The company ApcoTechnologies, based in the canton of Vaud, built a part for the attachment and the booster cap. The boosters are the tubes that are attached to the sides of the rocket. The rocket needs these parts so that it can lift off the ground and fly into space. After two minutes and 16 seconds, the fuel-filled boosters are empty and detach from the rocket. There are two versions of the Ariane 6, depending on how much energy is needed to launch the satellites into space: With two, and with four boosters.
Access to space is important
There are high hopes for the rocket - including from Switzerland. It is intended to give the countries involved independent access to space again. This is also part of Switzerland's space policy, said Renato Krpoun when asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency. Krpoun is Head of the Space Division at the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).
"Access to space has become very important," said Krpoun. "We use space infrastructure on a daily basis for navigation systems, for time signals and for weather forecasts." Smartphones would also not work without satellites. Krpoun was convinced that if there was a problem getting this infrastructure into space, it would be noticed immediately.
Switzerland covered 2.4 percent of the costs of around four billion euros for the Ariane 6 rocket. This corresponds to a financial contribution of almost 100 million euros (around 97 million Swiss francs).