Exotrail’s geostationary spacevan to launch on Ariane 6 in 2026 (Image Credit: Space News)
BREMEN, Germany — Exotrail’s geostationary spacevan is set to ride aboard Ariane 6 in 2026, in a boost for European space mobility capabilities.
Arianespace announced the contract for launch on board a heavy-lift Ariane 64 rocket Nov. 19. Launch will take place from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana in the second half of 2026.
The spacevan is the geostationary version of French startup Exotrail’s Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV), designed to transport and deploy other satellites into specific orbits. The company deployed a first satellite from its spacevan in February this year, following launch on a SpaceX Transporter mission in November 2023.
“As an auxiliary payload on a flight scheduled for the second half of 2026, the spacevan will benefit from Ariane 6’s performance and capacity to reach the geostationary transfer orbit,” Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace, said in a statement.
“Through this launch, Arianespace is also pleased to contribute to the development of space logistics and in-space mobility services, a very promising emerging market for the future. We thank Exotrail, CNES and France 2030 for their trust,” Israël added.
Ariane 6 had a successful debut flight in July this year after long delays. Arianespace had aimed for a second flight late this year, with a software fix to correct an issue which affected the launcher’s upper stage. The second flight—its first commercial mission—has however slipped into early 2025, Arianespace announced Nov. 8.
The 2026 mission will be a step forward for end-to-end space mobility operator Exotrail.
“With this mission, we aim at opening new possibilities for the growing demand of smaller birds needing to reach the geostationary arc”, said Jean-Luc Maria, CEO of Exotrail. “For this fourth spacevan mission, Ariane 6 is the perfect match. The partnership between the European heavy launcher and our servicing satellite addresses one of the ambitions tackled by France 2030, which is extending the European sovereignty of access to space, up to the GEO arc.”
The France 2030 investment plan was approved in 2021. It allocated a budget of €1.5 billion for space, according to CNES, to develop identified key market segments including reusable launchers and constellations and new applications.
The launch will use the Ariane 64 configuration which uses four solid boosters. By launching the spacevan vehicle as a secondary payload, Ariane 6 demonstrates its capacity to accomplish complex missions for a variety of customers, the Arianespace statement read.
