SyLEx test rocket gives France new suborbital launch option

Written by Copernical Team Tuesday, 02 December 2025 10:26

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Paris, France (SPX) Nov 28, 2025

ArianeGroup has completed the first flight of its new SyLEx sounding rocket system, providing France with an in-country suborbital launch capability for experiments and technology tests operated by the French Defence Procurement and Technology Agency DGA. The launch took place on November 28, 2025 from the DGA Missile Testing Centre at Biscarrosse and used the single stage version of the S

by Erica Marchand
Paris, France (SPX) Nov 28, 2025

ArianeGroup has completed the first flight of its new SyLEx sounding rocket system, providing France with an in-country suborbital launch capability for experiments and technology tests operated by the French Defence Procurement and Technology Agency DGA.

The launch took place on November 28, 2025 from the DGA Missile Testing Centre at Biscarrosse and used the single stage version of the SyLEx vehicle together with its dedicated launch pad.

For this mission SyLEx carried an ArianeGroup experimental payload designed as a platform to integrate and demonstrate new technologies in flight.

"This successful first flight secures sovereign testing capabilities for France using sounding rockets. SyLEx has been designed and built by ArianeGroup teams in under three years, based on test-and-learn methods," comments Vincent Pery, director of Defence Programmes at ArianeGroup. "Thus, DGA's renewed confidence in ArianeGroup's expertise enables France's autonomy and sovereignty in suborbital launch capabilities. We are already advancing to the next phase of our incremental roadmap: the two-stage version."

The SyLEx system is planned in two configurations, a single stage and a two stage rocket, both supported by the same launch infrastructure.

According to ArianeGroup, SyLEx is sized for payloads of up to 600 kilograms and can reach altitudes between 200 and 400 kilometers depending on configuration and mission profile.

The rocket family is intended for a range of missions such as microgravity research and atmospheric reentry investigations and is aimed at both civilian and defense customers in Europe.