The much-delayed Ariane 6 rocket is scheduled to launch on July 9 from Europe's spaceport in French Guiana.
Ariane 6 first flight (official broadcast)
The date was announced by European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Josef Aschbacher in Berlin this week.
Europe lost its indigenous heavy lift capacity with the retirement of Ariane 5. The plan for Ariane 6 was to create something more flexible and cheaper than its predecessor – the launcher can carry more and heavier satellites than Ariane 5 and has an upper stage engine that can be re-ignited multiple times.
However, ESA executives would be happy just to see an Ariane 6 get going. A combination of delays in Ariane 6 development, the loss of Soyuz launch capability due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the failure of Vega-C have forced the agency to use alternative suppliers to get its spacecraft into orbit.
