This photograph shows the take-off of the European Space Agency (ESA) satellite launcher Ariane 6 rocket from its launch pad, at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, on July 9, 2024.
Jody Amiet | AFP | Getty Images
The powerful European-built Ariane 6 rocket made its long-awaited liftoff on Tuesday, as the region returned to a launch market dominated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Ariane 6, standing over 200 feet tall and powered by its Vulcain engine and a pair of boosters, launched from Kourou in French Guiana at 3 p.m. ET and then reached orbit successfully.
The rocket is a combined effort of about $4.5 billion overseen by the European Space Agency (ESA) and built by ArianeGroup – an Airbus and Safran joint venture. Thirteen nations contribute to the Ariane 6 program.
This photograph shows the take-off of the European Space Agency (ESA) satellite launcher Ariane 6 rocket from its launch pad, at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, on July 9, 2024.
Jody Amiet | AFP | Getty Images
It’s the latest in a European rocket lineage dating to the 1970s, and succeeds the Ariane 5, which launched 117 times until it retired last year. Ariane 6 comes in two versions: Ariane 62, with two solid rocket boosters that can deliver as much as 10,000 kilograms of cargo to low Earth orbit (LEO); and Ariane 64, a model with four solid rockets boosters which can carry as many as 21,000 kilograms to LEO.
In the launch market, Ariane 6 falls in the “heavy” class of rockets.
Ariane 6’s debut flight is a demonstration mission for ESA, and will haul a variety of small satellites and spacecraft. After liftoff, the flight will last nearly three hours before it completes the deployment of 11 spacecraft, and also includes a key series of tests of the rocket’s upper stage engine.
Delayed debut
The European Space Agency (ESA) satellite launcher Ariane 6 rocket is seen prior to its maiden launch at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, on July 9, 2024.
Jody Amiet | Afp | Getty Images
Ariane 6’s first voyage has been postponed by years, delays fueled by technical issues, the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
Following its full-scale invasion of its neighbor, Russia suspended all European mission launches on its Soyuz rockets. A smaller alternative European rocket, the Vega-C, has been grounded since a failed 2022 launch — and isn’t expected to fly again until later this year at the earliest.
Despite rising costs and long delays, European leaders continue to support the Ariane 6 program, stressing the importance of the continent having its own access to space – rather than relying on SpaceX.
But Europe has already had to turn to SpaceX several times out of necessity, as the company enjoys a near monopoly on the global launch market.
The European Space Agency (ESA) satellite launcher Ariane 6 rocket moves to the launch pad prior its lift off at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, on July 9, 2024.
Jody Amiet | Afp | Getty Images