2024-07-11 21:18:17
The new European Ariana 6 rocket was launched from the Kourou Cosmodrome in French Guiana, world agencies reported.
It is the first time in nearly a year that Europe has launched a missile. Ariana 6’s predecessor, Ariana 5, was decommissioned in July last year. The launch of the new model has already been delayed by four years. The development of “Ariana 6” costs 4.5 billion euros.
Ariana 6’s first flight is critical because SpaceX’s Falcon 9 reusable rocket is the only viable alternative for launching large satellites into space. “It is absolutely necessary that Europe has independent access to space,” said the head of the European Space Agency, Josef Aschbacher.
Ariane 6’s first commercial flight is scheduled for later this year and already has 30 launch orders. Ariana 6 is scheduled to perform nine launches per year.
Tonight’s launch was delayed by an hour due to a small problem that has been fixed. The flight of the rocket will last for nearly 3 hours, writes BTA.