Ariane 6 launch captured by Scanway cameras reveals success

The Scanway company, the European Space Agency (ESA), and ArianeGroup presented the first materials from the inaugural flight of the Ariane 6 rocket. The photos and videos, recorded by two cameras, confirm the effectiveness of the vision system developed by Scanway, which was tested in space conditions. As a result, another product from this company has received the so-called flight heritage, which means confirmation that it works correctly in space.

The Scanway camera system, known as SCS (Scanway Camera System), is part of the YPSat (Young Professional Satellite) project, which participated in the first flight of the Ariane 6. This system uses technologies previously tested by Scanway during the Polish company's STAR VIBE space mission last year.

Thanks to the participation of the Wroclaw company in this project, Poland made a significant contribution to the inaugural flight of Europe’s largest rocket, Ariane 6. The rocket launch occurred on July 9 at 3:00 PM ET from the spaceport in French Guiana. This mission was considered a success and is believed to allow Europe to regain independence in launching heavy payloads into orbit.

"The success of the Ariane 6 flight and its spectacular course, including the visible passage in the sky with the naked eye from Poland, brings great joy to the entire Scanway team and is a source of pride that we, as Poland, had a part in such a prestigious event as the first inaugural flight of Europe’s largest launch vehicle," said Jędrzej Kowalewski, CEO of Scanway S.A.

The YPSat (Young Professional Satellite) project is a European initiative aimed at documenting the key stages of the Ariane 6 rocket's inaugural flight. As part of this project, Scanway provided a dual-camera optical set that monitored the separation process of the rocket's main fairing in the first phase of the flight and then recorded the separation of individual payloads placed on the rocket.

The first publicly presented materials are photos taken by Scanway cameras with a resolution of about 12.3 MP, and the video recording, after compression, was successfully transmitted to Earth. Apart from the aesthetic value, which we believe is spectacular, it’s another demonstration of the Scanway team’s skills in the area we specialize in, namely cameras, telescopes, and, broadly, observational technologies from space. However, we are not resting on our laurels because we are going into space again shortly, this time in the EagleEye project, the largest Polish satellite in the development of the national space sector.

The flight recording can be viewed on the official website of the European Space Agency.