Europe's newest uncrewed heavy launcher blasted off on a delayed mission to carry a French military observation satellite towards orbit on March 6, 2025 in its first commercially operational launch. The Ariane 6 rocket lifted from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, at 1:24 p.m. local time (1624 GMT), live webcast images showed, following two postponements. In its first operational mission, the launcher is due to carry the CSO-3 optical and infrared satellite into orbit for the French Air Force's Space Command. Although carrying a military payload, the journey is considered a commercial one by European authorities because it is the first being handled for Ariane 6 by operator Arianespace, rather than the European Space Agency which oversaw development. Ariane 6 is built by ArianeGroup, co-owned by Airbus and Safran.
ARIANESPACE/REUTERS
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