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Agence France-Presse

Europe’s new heavy-lift rocket Ariane 6 blasted off on its first commercial mission Thursday, carrying with it the continent’s hopes of bolstering its security and independent access to space.
After several delays including a last-minute postponement on Monday, the rocket carrying a French military satellite launched from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana just before 1.30pm.
Around an hour later, the control room burst into applause as Ariane 6 put the satellite into orbit, an online broadcast showed.
The high-profile mission comes as Europe seeks to strengthen its defences amid doubts it can still rely on the United States as a security partner under new US President Donald Trump.
A previous attempt on Monday was called off just 30 minutes before launching due to a dysfunctional valve on one of the refuelling pipes, operator Arianespace said.
Previous attempts to launch the mission in December and February were also scrubbed.

Postponed launches are common for new rockets. The latest test flight of the world’s biggest rocket, SpaceX’s Starship, is also scheduled for launch later on Thursday after a last-minute postponement on Monday.
Ariane 6 was initially scheduled to have its first flight in 2020, but repeated delays meant the rocket did not blast-off for the first time until July last year.
Its first commercial mission is to put the CSO-3 satellite into orbit at an altitude of around 800km (500 miles) above Earth.
CSO-3 has been waiting since 2022 to complete a network of three French military imaging satellites, with the first two launched in 2018 and 2020 on Soyuz rockets.
Europe has just 10 military satellites – five French and five Italian – compared to “hundreds” for the United States and China, French General Philippe Steininger said.
“Europe must ensure its own security,” the European Space Agency’s space transport director Toni Tolker-Nielsen said in Kourou earlier this week.
He called for the number of annual Ariane 6 launches to increase to 12, compared to the five planned for this year.
The European space industry has struggled to remain competitive with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which has become increasingly dominant when it comes to launching satellites.
And SpaceX is only expected to become more central to US space efforts now that the billionaire Musk has become a prominent adviser to Trump.

Europe recently found itself without a way to independently launch missions into space due to the Ariane 6 delays.
Its predecessor Ariane 5 retired in 2023, Russia pulled its Soyuz rockets and an accident grounded the smaller Vega-C launcher for two years.
But with Vega-C resuming flights in December and Ariane 6’s first commercial launch, European space efforts are hoping to turn a page on the crisis.
Given the military role of the satellite, heavy security was deployed at the spaceport on the northern coast of South America, with French fighter aircraft deployed to patrol the surrounding skies.
Arnaud Prost, a French pilot who is also a reserve astronaut for the European Space Agency, learned that Monday’s launch was scrubbed while he was flying a surveillance plane above the launch pad.
A successful Ariane 6 launch would be “an important step for the independence of France and Europe’s access to space”, he said.
“At the moment, Europe needs to find projects that bring us together,” he said.
“Space exploration is a unique opportunity to do this.”


Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket blasts off on first commercial mission

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European satellite launcher set for first commercial blast-off

Space

The Ariane 6 rocket lifts off from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, on Thursday. Photo: AFP

The Ariane 6 rocket is seen at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, on Monday. Photo: AFP

Personnel monitor the parameters of the Ariane 6 launcher in the Jupiter Room at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou on Monday. Photo: AFP, French Guiana

Singer Katy Perry and Bezos’ fiancée to fly to space on Blue Origin rocket

Katy Perry will be part of a six-member, all-female crew on Blue Origin’s next space flight. Photo: Reuters

Lauren Sanchez (left), fiancée of Amazon founder and Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos (middle), will be on Blue Origin’s next flight this spring. Photo: AFP

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in January 2025. Photo: AP

SpaceX repeats stunning ‘chopsticks’ catch, but Starship explodes in test flight

The Starship’s Super Heavy Booster being grappled mid-air as it returns to the launch pad at Starbase near Boca Chica, Texas. Photo: SpaceX via AFP

SpaceX’s mega rocket Starship and booster separate. Photo: AP

Orange balls of light fly across the sky over Turks and Caicos Islands. Photo: Marcus Haworth via Reuters

SpaceX’s Starship booster returning to the launch pad. Photo: EPA-EFE

Blue Origin reaches orbit in first New Glenn rocket launch, misses booster landing

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket lifts off. Photo: AP

The New Glenn rocket on the launch pad. Photo: Reuters

Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos. File photo: Reuters

US president-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk watch the launch of a SpaceX Starship rocket in November. File photo: Reuters

Private US, Japanese lunar landers head to moon on a single rocket

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off on Wednesday. Photo: AP

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches carrying two lunar landers. Photo: Reuters

The Resilience lunar lander. Photo: ispace via AFP

 Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander. Photo: SpaceX via AP

ispace’s micro rover. Photo: ispace via AP

News

World

Europe

The high-profile mission comes as Europe seeks to strengthen its defences amid doubts about the US as a security partner under Trump


The high-profile mission comes as Europe seeks to strengthen its defences amid doubts about the US as a security partner under Trump.


European Union

France

Russia