Ariane Next is a future European partiallyreusable launch vehicle planned to succeedAriane 6, with an entry into service in the 2030s. The objective of the new launcher is to halve the launch costs compared with Ariane 6.^[2][3] Principal technologies for Ariane Next are being developed under theEU-funded Project SALTO'sVTVL demonstratorThemis programme,^[4][5] the jointCNES-DLR-JAXAVTVL demonstratorCALLISTO project,^[6] and theESA-fundedPrometheusmethane-fueledrocket engine development project.^[7][8]ArianeGroup plans to usePrometheus first on the smaller, partially reusableMaia rocket, developed by itssubsidiary MaiaSpace.^[9]

Theexpendable launcherAriane 6, whose development officially began in 2014,^[10] succeeded theAriane 5 rocket in 2024.^[11]CNES andArianeGroup officials started publicly discussing the futurereusable launch vehicle under the name "Ariane Next" in 2017.^{[12][13][14][15][16][17]} First results of system studies for the new launch vehicle were published in 2019 and 2020, stating the priority objective as halving the cost of launching, as compared toAriane 6, with simplified and more flexible launch methods.^[2][18][3]

In 2021,ArianeGroup was selected by theEuropean Commission to head two projects: one to develop a newreusable launch vehicle and the other to develop a newliquid propellantrocket engine for the vehicle.^[19] The two projects were named SALTO (reuSable strAtegic space Launcher Technologies & Operations) and ENLIGHTEN (European iNitiative for Low cost, Innovative & Green High Thrust Engine), respectively.^[20] Funding for the projects was provided by theHorizon Europe programme designed to encourage and accelerate innovation in Europe.^[20] The ENLIGHTEN project, and its 2024 continuation ENLIGHTEN-ED (Engine Demonstration), follow up on the success of thePrometheus development project.^{[19][21][22][23]}

In May 2022, the French Economy MinisterBruno Le Maire said SALTO and ENLIGHTEN would be operational by 2026, and ArianeGroup stated that the target date was achievable.^[20] First hot firePrometheus engine testing occurred in 2023.^[24] As of October 2025^[update], the SALTO project intended to carry out an initial flight test of a single rocket stage in 2026,^[25] using theThemis T1H prototypefirst stage to validate the landing phase of the design.^[20]

• FROG-T, developed byCNES, was a smallturbojet-powered demonstrator for testing the vertical landing of a rocket stage. It made several flights in 2019.^[26]
• FROG-H, under development byCNES, is a larger demonstrator powered by a monopropellant rocket engine provided by the Łukasiewicz Institute of Aviation in Poland. Its first flight is expected in 2026.^[27]
• Callisto, developed byCNES,DLR, andJAXA, aims to improve the techniques required to produce areusable launcher (return to Earth and reconditioning) and to estimate the operational cost of such a launcher. Its first flight is scheduled for 2027.^[6]
• Themis, developed by theEU-funded project SALTO, is a reusable first stage demonstrator with one to threePrometheus rocket motors and is expected to fly in 2026.^[25]

Funded by the EU under the Horizon Europe programme, project SALTO^[20][28] aims to raise the maturity level of the first European reusable rocket technology, significantly reduce launch costs, ensure improvements in the environmental footprint and strengthen Europe’s competitiveness in strategic space missions. The main highlight of the project will be a series ofVTVL hop tests at theEsrange Space Center in Sweden in 2026 withThemis, a reusable rocket demonstrator developed by theEuropean Space Agency (ESA) withArianeGroup as prime contractor.^[25] The next-generationPrometheus rocket engine will use liquid methane at −162 °C as a fuel instead of hydrogen. The engine is expected to play a key role in future missions, including launching commercial satellites.

The architecture proposed for Ariane Next uses a design based onSpaceX'sFalcon 9: a reusable first stage which, after having separated from the second stage, returns toland vertically onEarth. The first stage will use severalliquid-propellant rocket engines: the predecessor for these is thePrometheus rocket engine under development by the EU, which burns a mixture ofmethane andliquid oxygen. Methane is somewhat less efficient than the hydrogen used by theVulcain engine ofAriane 6 but it can be stored at higher temperatures, −160 °C (113 K; −256 °F) compared to −253 °C (20 K; −423 °F) forhydrogen, which makes it possible to lighten and simplify the tanks and the supply circuits. The density of liquid methane is higher than hydrogen, which allows a mass reduction in the tank structure. The launcher is planned to use seven or nine of such engines for the first stage and a single engine for the second stage.^[1] The goal is to halve the launch costs compared to Ariane 6.^[3]

Different configurations of the launcher are being evaluated. Three versions are under consideration for different missions:^[2]

• A two-stage version
• A version with two small liquid propellant boosters
• A version with three first stages linked together, similar toFalcon Heavy

Different systems are being studied for controlling the first stage'satmospheric re-entry:^[2]

• Grid fins, as on the first stage of Falcon 9
• Stabilization fins
• Air braking

Different systems are being considered, ranging from everything on ground (all ground systems) to everything on the launcher (all on-board systems). Currently, development is focused on an on-board legs system similar to that ofFalcon 9.^[2]

• Reusable Vehicle Testing
• List of European Space Agency programmes and missions

• Ariane Next on CNES website

• Reusable launch systems
• Partially reusable space launch vehicles
• Proposed space launch vehicles
• Space launch vehicles of Europe
• Ariane (rocket family)
• Space programs
• European space programmes
• Spaceflight technology
• 2030s in spaceflight

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