First commercial mission of the European rocket Ariane 6, postponed

The launch of the European rocket Ariane 6, which was planned for 1.24pm local time from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, has been postponed due to a reported “anomaly on the ground”. 

The launch was meant to be the first commercial mission of the new European space rocket and the second overall, after its maiden, partly successful, test launch in July 2024, where it carried a dummy payload plus several small satcubes. A total of 32 launches are so far planned for the Ariane 6. 

This is the third time that this particular rocket has seen its launch postponed, after earlier attempts in December 2024 and February 26, 2025. On this occasion, the Ariane 6 was carrying a CSO-3 French military satellite designed for high-resolution Earth observation purposes. 

The success of Europe’s flagship space rocket has taken on an additional relevance amid a geopolitical rift between Europe and the United States on strategic issues and the growing political relevance of Elon Musk and his space company, SpaceX. 

Ariane 6 replaces Ariane 5, which for more than 25 years was the workhorse of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the main vehicle used to send satellites and other payloads into orbit. It is an expendable space launch system developed in two versions for additional flexibility.  

The Ariane 62 version, which is the one that was tested in July 2024, has the capacity to carry a payload of between 4.5 and 10.3 tons, depending on whether it is being placed into geostationary transfer orbit or low Earth orbit. Likewise, the larger Ariane 64 can launch payloads of between 11.5 and 21.6 tons. 

The Ariane 6 new launch date has not been announced yet.The post First commercial mission of the European rocket Ariane 6, postponed appeared first on AeroTime.

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