\tEnabling & Support<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAriane 6: made in Switzerland<\/a><\/p>\n As one of ESA\u2019s founding members, Switzerland has been an important player in the space sector for decades. Swiss technology is ubiquitous both on and beyond Earth \u2013 during the Moon landing, the Apollo 11 crew wore Swiss watches, and their suits were secured by Velcro, or \u2018hook-and-loop fastener\u2019, invented by a Swiss engineer. Today, Swiss companies and universities are involved in the majority of ESA\u2019s space science missions, including the Solar Orbiter<\/a>, Gaia<\/a>, Juice<\/a> or Rosalind Franklin<\/a>.<\/p>\n Switzerland contributes 2.4% to the Ariane 6 programme and so two Switzerland-based companies, Beyond Gravity and APCO Technologies supply components for the Ariane 6 rocket, as well as ground support equipment essential for its development.<\/p>\n This series of articles is looking at the parts and components needed to assemble the Ariane 6 rocket \u2013 supplied by companies from the 13 ESA Member States participating to the Ariane 6 programme. Together they contribute the best of their know-how to build Europe’s heavy-lift launcher under the guidance of main contractor ArianeGroup who also designed the Ariane 6 rocket.<\/p>\n \tBeyond Gravity \u2013 protecting valuable cargo<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tMetOp-SG-A1 sealed within Ariane 6 fairing<\/a><\/p>\n Beyond Gravity Switzerland, formerly known as RUAG Space, has supplied the payload fairings for all Ariane missions since the rocket\u2019s inaugural flight in 1979, and will continue to do so for the Ariane 6 launchers.<\/p>\n The payloads \u2013 most often satellites \u2013 carried to space on Ariane 6 are nestled underneath the fairing \u2013 a nose cone that splits vertically in two \u2013 at the very top of the rocket. Destined for the outer space, these valuable passengers require reliable protection from the extreme thermal, acoustic and aerodynamic conditions the rocket is subjected to during its launch and voyage through Earth\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n Safeguarding the cargo is the task of the fairings \u2013 two half-shells making up the rocket\u2019s cone-shaped top. Once beyond the atmosphere \u2013 having served its purpose \u2013 the two shells separate, exposing the payload underneath.<\/p>\n Manufactured by Beyond Gravity at its Emmen site in Switzerland, these indispensable launcher parts come in two variants, 20 or 14 metres tall, to accommodate passengers of various sizes. The larger fairing type weighs in at 2.6 tonnes, the smaller 1.8 tonnes, and both match the rocket\u2019s diameter of 5.4 metres. Each shell of the fairing is manufactured in one piece from carbon fibre material and cured in an industrial oven to solidify into its final shape and form.<\/p>\n \tAPCO Technologies \u2013 booster attachments and ground support<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tTransferring Ariane 6 booster for flight VA263<\/a><\/p>\n The Ariane 6 rocket comes in two models, with either two or four booster engines. Each one of the boosters, referred to technically as Equipped Solid Rocket (ESR), generates thrust that is equal to more than 35 jet engines, providing the mighty push necessary for liftoff. Switzerland-based APCO\u00a0Technologies provide the booster nose cap as well as the booster attachments, securing the engines to the rocket\u2019s core stage. In rocket-building every detail must be considered, so the booster attachments have to withstand the immense upward thrust that is transferred to the core stage.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tAriane 6 central core reaches the assembly building at Europe’s Spaceport<\/a><\/p>\n In addition to the booster parts, APCO also supplies the Mechanical Ground Support Equipment (MGSE). As the name implies, these machines are not designed to travel skywards, but mostly horizontally over land and sea around assembly halls and test centres and are instrumental throughout the rocket\u2019s development all the way to launch. MGSE includes assembly and integration equipment for the upper stage assembled in Bremen, Germany, and the main stage in Les Mureaux, France, as well as the climate-controlled containers that are used to safely store and transport the rocket from Europe to French Guiana.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tMetOp-SG-A1 and Sentinel-5 on a roll to the launch pad<\/a><\/p>\n At Europe\u2019s Spaceport, APCO supplies the Encapsulation Dock that allows for the assembly and transport of the fairing around the Ariane 6 payloads, as well as the Upper Composite Trailer that takes the payload in its fairing to the launch pad. At 6 m wide and 26 m long this trailer is as large as a tennis court and has two driver cabins \u2013 instead of \u201creversing\u201d the driver can jump out and walk to the other side to drive in the opposite direction. At 180 tonnes it has 32 wheels and three generators for power.<\/p>\n