At Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, a test model of the Ariane 6’s central core has been assembled for the first time. Ariane 6 is the first Ariane rocket to be assembled horizontally, which is simpler and less costly than more traditional vertical assembly. One of the P120C boosters can be seen from different angles during installation, before the rocket’s central core is moved to its launchpad and placed upright in its mobile gantry. With the central core and boosters in place, combined tests validate compatibility between all components of the complete launch system.

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