ESA Space Transport

The Helix engine was the first European engine to demonstrate staged combustion technology. This engine uses an oxygen-rich staged combustion engine cycle, to get the most out of every drop of propellant.

Power pack testing 💪 Rocket Factory Augsburg is working on an upgrade to their Helix rocket engine, completing a set of tests at Esrange Space Center in Sweden.

Loud and powerful: Vega-C even makes cameras "faint". This video shows Vega-C's ascent to the skies for flight #VV29 recorded by one of the closest to action cameras.

Liftoffs are rough. And payloads need to be protected. That's why ESA has renewed its contract with Lios, an Irish company that developed SoundBounce: a material to shield payloads from the noise and vibrations of liftoff. 🔇

🔊Vega-C rocket launched Smile mission this morning on a quest to reveal Earth’s invisible shield against the solar wind. 🚀Liftoff from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana at 04:52 BST / 05:52 CEST (00:52 local time) on 19 May 2026 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

AVUM+ just fired for the last time to ensure a safe deorbit and allowing Vega-C to adhere to the zero debris approach.

Smile will now keep on travelling with the Vega-C upper stage AVUM+.

Way above the clouds we say goodbye to Zefiro-9!

Nice to see you, Smile! Vega-C just opened up its fairing to reveal Smile to the skies, for the first time. But the journey is not over yet, there's still a long way to orbit.

With just 1/4 of the propellant of his bigger sibling, Zefiro-9 has what it takes to take Smile to its orbit.

Zefiro-40 has finished its job and now it's time to say goodbye and turn on Zefiro-9, its smaller sibling.

After 2 minutes of pure thrust (and 142 tonnes of solid propellant), the first stage of Vega-C, P120C, was turned off and left behind. Now the second stage takes over: Zefiro-40 will fire for 3 minutes, propelling the Smile farther away from Earth!

Weather looks good, Vega-C looks good and we are go for launch today! Join us at 04:30 BST / 05:30 CEST for the start of the live show. Liftoff planned for 04:52 / 05:52 CEST 🚀 watch.esa.int/two/

SpaceForest launched its sounding rocket from Poland via a mobile ‘launch pad’. www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

HyImpulse launched its suborbital rocket using paraffin as fuel from Australia. www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

Vinci just fired for the third time to ensure a safe deorbit and allowing Ariane 6 to adhere to the zero debris approach.

Your package has arrived! 📦 We have confirmation that the 32 Amazon Leo 32 satellites have been delivered.

Ariane 6 just started to deploy the first of the 32 Amazon Leo satellites.

Thank you, Vulcain 2.1! 🔥 The core stage of Ariane 6 has now separated from the upper stage. Vinci will now take over to continue the rocket's ascent to the skies.

The 20-metre fairing just opened up to reveal our payloads to space for the first time. The upper and core stages of the rocket remain connected to the satellites as the rocket keeps moving forward.

Ariane 6 just left its four P120C boosters behind! Now it's time for the Vulcain 2.1 engine to take the lead propelling the rocket further away from Earth.

And we have liftoff for Ariane 6 🚀 Flight #VA268 has just left Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana and is heading to low Earth orbit.

The launcher is complete, all systems are ready and the countdown is on! ⚡️ Flight #VA268 will take 32 Amazon Leo satellites from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana to low Earth orbit. Liftoff is set for 30 April 2026 between 09:08-09:57 BST/10:08-10:57 CEST.

Zefiro-40 and Zefiro-9 fit together like a puzzle piece 🧩 The third stage of the Vega-C rocket, Zefiro-9, is the same as used on Vega and burns 10 tonnes of solid propellant. #VV29 🤝 @esa.int @science.esa.int @operations.esa.int

To build our Vega-C rocket we stack one stage on top of the other, gently 😊 Here the second Vega-C stage, Zefiro-40, is being hoisted onto the first stage P120C solid-propellant rocket motor. #VV29 🤝 @esa.int @science.esa.int @operations.esa.int

Nothing beats a smooth sail 🌴 Back in January, the first 3 stages of the next Vega-C rocket arrived in French Guiana! #VV29 Manufactured in mainland Europe, the stages were transported by Canopée, the first custom-built transporter to use sails, reducing emissions and saving on fuel by up to 30%.

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.

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.

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

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...

Payloads delivered! 📦 The Auxiliary Propulsion Unit has worked non-stop during the separation of all 32 satellites.

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.

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.

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.