The first commercial flight of the new European Ariane 6 rocket is scheduled for 26 February, according to French launch service provider Arianespace.
The rocket will lift off at 17:24 Belgian time from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, and will launch a French military observation satellite.
This commercial flight follows the inaugural flight of the Ariane 6 in July 2024. The inaugural flight was not entirely successful, as the return of the upper stage to Earth for atmospheric burn-up (the final phase of the flight) did not go as planned. The issue was identified and resolved, and it was stated in September that "nothing stands in the way of a new flight."
The Ariane 6 is designed to carry large payloads (the available weight which can be loaded onto the rocket).
For smaller payloads, Arianespace uses the Vega-C rocket, which was successfully launched in December, two years after an unsuccessful first commercial flight in 2022.
