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Esa selects Ariane 6 basic design (BBC)
By Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News
The basic design for Europe's next generation rocket, the Ariane 6, has been selected.
It will be powered by two solid-fuelled lower stages and incorporate the liquid-fuelled upper-stage currently being developed as an upgrade for the existing Ariane 5 vehicle.
The concept was chosen following six months of trade-off studies.
European Space Agency member states approved Ariane 6 feasibility work at a ministerial council last November.
These nations expect the new launcher to enter service at the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana at the start of the next decade.
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more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23241158