Ariane flight VA262
| Industry | Space launch |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2024 |
| Products | Ariane 6 launch vehicle |
Ariane flight VA262 marked the inaugural launch of the Ariane 6 vehicle, carrying a payload that included a mass simulator, multiple small CubeSats, and various additional rideshare experiments.
Mission
Although the launch experienced a one-hour delay caused by an issue with the data acquisition system, it eventually took place without further complications at 19:00 UTC, following a northeastern path over Europe. The two P120C solid rocket boosters and the core stage operated according to expectations. At T+8 minutes, the upper stage ignited for a ten-minute burn to insert the payload into an initial orbit. A second ignition occurred at T+56 minutes, lasting 22 seconds, successfully achieving a circular orbit where CubeSats were deployed as planned. Nevertheless, at T+1 hour and 14 minutes, the auxiliary propulsion unit (APU) encountered a malfunction.
The APU plays an essential role in restarting the upper stage's Vinci engine by heating propellant within a 3D-printed gas generator to repressurize fuel tanks and supplying low-thrust maneuvers necessary for propellant settling or precise orbital adjustments.
Due to this failure, the intended third burn scheduled for T+2 hours and 37 minutes—an important demonstration for upcoming missions and part of ESA’s zero-launch-debris policy—could not be executed. This burn was designed to safely deorbit the upper stage over the Pacific Ocean and deploy two reentry capsule experiments. Instead, the upper stage remains trapped in a stable circular orbit, where atmospheric drag will take several decades to cause orbital decay.
Payload
The primary payload consisted of a mass simulator accompanied by multiple rideshare components: five experimental payloads (PariSat by GAREF, Peregrinus by Sint-Pieterscollege, LIFI by OLEDCOMM, SIDLOC by Libre Space, and YPSat by ESA) alongside eight CubeSats (OOV-Cube from RapidCube, Curium One by PTS, ISTSat from University of Lisbon, 3Cat-4 by Polytechnic University of Catalonia, GRBBeta from Spacemanic, ROBUSTA-3 by University of Montpellier, CURIE from NASA, and Replicator by Orbital Matter), all successfully deployed. Additionally, two reentry capsules (SpaceCase SC-X01 developed by ArianeGroup and Nyx Bikini from The Exploration Company) were onboard for release following second stage deorbit; however, this deployment did not occur due to the upper stage remaining in orbit.