The 1st Launch Of The New European Ariane 6 Rocket Was Postponed To 2024
The first launch of the new European launch vehicle Ariane 6 of the French company Arianespace from the Kourou cosmodrome in French Guiana is now scheduled for 2024, said Arianespace CEO Stefan Israel.
Previously, the launch of the rocket was planned to be carried out in October-December 2023.
It was planned to start operating the Ariane 6, which will replace the aging Ariane 5 launch vehicle, back in 2020, but this period was postponed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as due to difficulties in developing the rocket. However, the last 117th launch of Ariane 5 took place in July of this year.
Amid the failure of the Vega-C rocket last December, Europe currently has no independent access to low Earth orbit. Earlier this year, the European Commission prepared a draft request for a special permit, according to which the launch of certain European cargoes into low Earth orbit can be carried out using launch vehicles of the American private company SpaceX.
According to ESA, the rocket will be presented in two versions – Ariane 62 and Ariane 64. The first version, equipped with two boosters, will be able to launch up to 10.3 tons of payload into low Earth orbit, and the second, equipped with four boosters, will carry loads weighing 20 tons.
