Next milestones towards inaugural flight:

29 August 2023: Vulcain 2.1 core stage engine short firing test - this 4-second engine burn will be the final item in a test routine that includes fuelling and emptying Ariane 6 with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen and a countdown sequence. Test carried out using the test model of the rocket on the launch pad at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.

1 September 2023: third hot-firing test of the upper stage in Lampoldshausen - at German aerospace agency DLR’s technical centre in Lampoldshausen, (Germany), engineers from DLR and ArianeGroup will test-fire Ariane 6’s upper stage Vinci engine and its smaller Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) to simulate the way they will operate together during a flight. 

26 September 2023: Vulcain 2.1 core stage engine long firing test – a long-duration Vulcain 2.1 firing will run for about 470 seconds to simulate an actual flight. This test, to be carried out using the test model of the rocket installed on its launch pad, will give engineering teams all the results needed to define a launch period for the Ariane 6 inaugural flight in 2024.

The Ariane 6 Task Force consists of top management of ESA, launch base prime contractor CNES, launcher system prime contractor ArianeGroup and launch service provider Arianespace.