Countdown to first launch of Europe's Ariane 6 rocket
Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket is set to launch for the first time from the European Space Agency's (ESA) spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. This long-awaited inaugural flight comes after four years of delays and marks Europe's efforts to regain independent access to space.
The 56-meter tall Ariane 6 is the ESA's most powerful rocket yet. After routine checks revealed a minor data issue, the planned liftoff time was pushed back by one hour to 4 pm local time (1900 GMT). Weather conditions were reported as favorable for fueling the rocket with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
A successful launch of Ariane 6 would be a significant milestone for European space efforts, as Europe has had to rely on rivals like SpaceX since the last flight of the previous workhorse rocket, Ariane 5, a year ago. Historically, nearly half of first launches of new rockets have failed, including Ariane 5's initial explosion in 1996, though it later had a highly successful run.
The Kourou launch site teams are hoping to avoid repeating that history, with over 200 experts closely monitoring the countdown. They will only breathe a sigh of relief once the rocket's reusable upper stage splashes down in the Pacific an hour and six minutes after liftoff, and the mission's 17 payloads, including university microsatellites and experiments, are safely deployed.
ESA officials have described the Ariane 6 launch as the first step in "changing the future of the European space transportation ecosystem" and marking Europe's "return" to the space scene. A successful maiden flight would be a major boost after years of delays, and could pave the way for Ariane 6 to become as reliable and successful as its predecessor Ariane 5 over the long run. The stakes are high, as Europe seeks to reassert its independent space capabilities on the global stage.
