Stacked! The Vega-C rocket that will launch @science.esa.int's aurora-watching Smile satellite is being built up at Europe's Spaceport. Stage 1...2...3... and 4 are on the launch pad.

With the first Ariane 6 with four boosters, our fleet of rockets is complete 🚀 We will continue to work on upgrades to reduce costs, make our launch systems more robust and launch more often. For example, the powerful P160C rocket motor will replace P120C on both Ariane 6 and Vega-C rockets.

How are new rocket engines made? 💥 Greta has a 30-cm high combustion chamber made by using layer-by-layer metal deposition. This technique allows the manufacture of complex shapes, which would be difficult to achieve with conventional metallurgy.

Every launch is special 🚀 Flight #V158 made history. Ariane 5 reached speeds of 40 000 km/h for the first time taking Rosetta from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana into a heliocentric orbit.

What if spacecraft could be made of a material that heals itself? 🩹♻️ Project Cassandra is developing a carbon-fibre material with sensors to detect damage and a heating element, allowing spacecraft to autonomously repair initial stages of damage. Details: www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

Start the week with a Smile 😊 In preparation for Vega-C flight #VV29 that will take Smile to orbit from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, we're building the rocket that will take her to space. The P120C solid booster and the Zefiro-40 stage have already been transferred to the launch zone.

There are a lot of faces people working on #Ariane6. This is Jörn, Head of Propulsion Test Facilities and Services. He has been involved in space transportation for 30 years. Now, his job is to make sure that our propulsion test benches are ready to use at any time. www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

📣 Call for journalists: attend the Smile launch media event at Europe’s Spaceport! Smile is a scientific collaboration between ESA and the Chinese Academy of Science. The mission will study how Earth responds to the solar wind. Registration details 👉 www.esa.int/Newsroom/Pre... 1/2 🔭 🧪 ☀️

We've got a long history of European launchers. 📽️ And we've got the footage to prove it. This was Ariane 1, the first launcher of the Ariane family! A whole vibe, isn't it? 🧡 Ariane 1 inaugural launch: 24 December 1979 Ariane 1 final launch: 22 February 1986

Meet Greta, a new European rocket engine 🔥 A 5 kN thrust class rocket engine fuelled by hydrogen peroxide and ethanol, which can be restarted several times. Greta fired for over 40 seconds continuously, multiple times, showing stable operations, including controlled shutdowns. 🎥 ArianeGroup

Getting to space is a team effort. Want to join us? #ESArecruits 🚀 You still have a few days left to apply to our @esa.int Graduate Trainee opportunities. You can submit your application to a maximum of three positions until 28 February. www.esa.int/About_Us/Car...

Space Rider might be small compared to Vega-C or the huge Ariane 6 rockets, but it's all a matter of perspective 💁🏻‍♀️ This Space Rider blueprint poster shows its dimensions and components compared to a 1.74 m human. The Reentry Model has a cargo-bay for payloads, able to land on ground and fly again.

🚢 Inspector Smile has begun a two-week voyage across the Atlantic, heading for Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. In the early hours of 11 February, Smile left ESA’s technical heart by truck for the Port of Amsterdam, where it was loaded onto the cargo ship MN Colibri. 🔭 🧪

Look who's on her way 👀 Our next Vega-C passenger, @science.esa.int's Smile mission, is making its way from Europe to Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. Can't wait to welcome her with an open fairing 🤗 Just for fun, see where she's at: www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/detai...

When in space, the Space Rider will not only ride, but also perform other operations! 🕹️ For example, a free-flying drone could be used to inspect Space Rider or other satellites to assess their condition and any possible damage. ⏱️ A drone inspection like this would probably last up to a full day.

Today we did something risky 🫣 We asked our @esa.int photographer to show us his favourite pictures he ever took of our launchers. Not an easy task but... Here they are! Can you identify all 4?

💥💪4️⃣ The boosters used on Europe's rocket Ariane 6 are some of the most powerful one-piece solid-propulsion rocket motors in the world – and the latest liftoff saw Ariane 6 soar with four. www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

What happens after a launch? 🧹🫧 Before starting to clean the launch pad, the first step is to confirm that there is no longer a risk of toxic gas in the air. After, cleaning vehicles rinse the mast, launch table, and forecourt, allowing the technicians to safely access the launch zone.

This is Ariane 6’s most powerful version yet 🔥 The four-booster version of Ariane 6 took 32 Amazon Leo satellites to low-Earth orbit. Liftoff occurred at 16:45 GMT/17:45 CET from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, with separation of the last satellites occurring after 114 minutes. 🤝 @cnes.fr

First pics of liftoff ✌️ 📸 @esa.int - M. Pédoussau #VA267 🤝 @cnes.fr

Liftoff! 🚀

🚥 Weather checks looking good, less than 10 minutes before launch window opens Here's what to expect from today's launch: • A thousand Metallica concerts aka liftoff • Booster Separation • Fairing Separation • Core Stage Separation • Satellites deployment • Upper stage deorbitation

🔴 LIVE NOW First launch of Ariane 6 with four boosters. Tune in to watch flight #VA267 watch.esa.int/two/

The first Ariane 6 with four boosters stands tall on the launch pad 👑 With the 20-metre version of the fairing, the height of the rocket is 62 metres! Teams at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana are doing the final checks before liftoff, set for today at 17:45–18:13 CET (13:45–14:13 local time).

I had a constructive first meeting in Washington, D.C. with my counterpart at NASA, Administrator Jared Isaacman. We had a very constructive discussion on space exploration and are fully aligned on our shared objectives: the Moon, LEO, and Mars. Looking forward to continuing the discussions.

Ariane 6 with four boosters: ready! The Launch Readiness Review for flight #VA267 with 32 Amazon Leo satellites concludes that ground systems, rocket and payloads are go for liftoff. 🚀 Date: 12 February ⌚ Time: 17:45–18:13 CET 🛰️ Mission time: 1 hour 54 minutes ▶️ Live: www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

What does versatility mean for Ariane 6? 🤹‍♀️ Ariane 6 can be configured in many ways on the launch pad, it is modular by design. Ariane 6 can have either 2 or 4 boosters, each providing 3500 kN of thrust. The fairing comes in two sizes can house multiple satellites in several configurations.

Women aren’t just reaching for the stars, they’re engineering the rockets that get us there. On International Day of Women and Girls in Science, these are some of the faces of @esa.int Space Transportation.

🚀 #WatchLive: Ariane 6 #VA267 is set to launch on 12 February between 16:45–17:13 GMT/17:45–18:13 CET from Europe Space Port in French Guiana. 🔗 esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation/Ariane/Watch_live_first_launch_of_Ariane_6_with_four_boosters @transport.esa.int

Here we go! 🚀 The first Ariane 64 is now fully assembled, standing tall inside the mobile gantry, on the launch pad. This 20-metre tall fairing hides and protects 32 Amazon Leo satellites until it's time to reveal them to space.

As we get ready for the first Ariane 6 launch with 4 boosters, let's remember the last Ariane 6 launch of 2025. On 17 December 2025, Galileo satellites SAT 33 and SAT 34, separated from the launcher 4 hours after being lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, on flight #VA266

Sometimes getting to space simply needs more... Oomph! 💨 This week marks the first flight of Ariane 6's most powerful version: with 4 boosters. Flight #VA267 is set to liftoff from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana on 12 February between 16:45–17:13 GMT (17:45–18:13 CET, 13:45–14:13 local time).

How large is Ariane 6? Human for scale!

There is a lot to remember from 2016, here are a few of our memories: 🚀 Liftoff of Ariane 5 carrying four Galileo satellites, flight VA233. 🏗️ Building the Ariane 6 launch complex, ELA-4 at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. What are your space memories from 2016?

Building a working rocket engine is one thing. But igniting the engine in a stable and repeatable way? A whole other. The Exploration Company, based in Bordeaux, France, has tested a resonance igniter for rocket engines: a new way to start their rocket engines, without external ignition devices.

For the first time, with 4 boosters! 🚀 Flight #VA267 is set to liftoff from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana on 12 February between 16:45–17:13 GMT (17:45–18:13 CET, 13:45–14:13 local time). With four boosters, Ariane 6 will take 32 satellites for Amazon’s Leo constellation to low-Earth orbit.

New launch window for second flight of Isar Aerospace's Spectrum launcher: no earlier than 19 March isaraerospace.com/press/new-av...

Every job has its responsibilities, some bigger than others. Picture this: you're driving a custom built 36-wheeled truck with 142 tonnes of solid rocket fuel, aka explosive rocket propellant, as cargo. How would you feel? 😰

Happy International LEGO day! To celebrate this day, we've built our own Ariane 6 designed by @legorocket.bsky.social 🧱

🔴 #LiveNow: Access to Space discussion with ESA Director Toni Tolker‑Nielsen & the European Commission’s DG DEFIS. 📺 watch.esa.int/two/

📺 #WatchLive tomorrow, follow #EuropeanSpaceConf on #ESAWebTV. 09:20 Keynote by DG Josef Aschbacher 09:40 Joint press statement with Commissioner Andrius Kubilius & ESA DG 10:40 Panel on Europe’s space competitiveness. 15:20 Access to Space discussion 👉 watch.esa.int/

1️⃣…2️⃣…3️⃣…4️⃣ ! All four boosters for the next #Ariane6 have been moved to the launch pad and are attached to the rocket. For the first time Ariane 6 will launch with four boosters, the most powerful version of our heavy-lift rocket – liftoff set for 12 February. More 📸: www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

A beacon of light, the launch pad for the first Ariane 6 with four boosters awaits.

What are your plans for 2026? We have a few ideas... Take a look at what’s ahead for @esa.int this year ⤵️ www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

🎫 Two new missions grabbed their tickets to fly on the RFA One rocket from Saxavord, UK: 1. Lurbat, a collection of demonstrator technologies, developed by Added Value Solutions, Spain/UK. 2. Two cubesats developed by Indra, Spain, holding five experiments.

Isar Aerospace is standing down from today’s launch attempt to address an issue with a pressurisation valve. Their teams are currently assessing the next possible launch opportunities and a new target date will be announced shortly. Stay tuned for more information.

It's no news that we are constantly improving our rockets 🚀 But did you know we are using AI to help with that? @esa.int’s Future Launchers Preparatory Programme is investigating how to use AI for better processes and new shapes in materials that could be used on rockets or spacecraft.

Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum launcher is getting ready for liftoff from Andøya Spaceport in Norway 🚀🇳🇴 Spectrum is taking 6 passengers into low Earth orbit: five cubesats and an experiment. Liftoff is targeted to no earlier than 21 January. www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

Before liftoff, Vega-C's parts are stacked on top of each other. After liftoff, those parts get separated in stages, before the payloads are released into their orbits, hence the name rocket stage. This new infographic shows, in detail, Vega-C's main parts and what they do ⤵️

Building a rocket takes time and precision ⏳ This video shows a robot carefully layering an epoxy-impregnated carbon-fibre tape onto the surface of a P120C motor, used to power the Vega-C and Ariane 6 rockets. 📍🎥 Avio's Vega-C Production Factory