With the first launch of Ariane 6 on July 9, 2024 at 9 p.m., European Space Agency – ESA is preparing to enter a new era and Europe is preparing to regain its autonomy of access to space.

Ariane 6 is the new European launcher designed to put heavy payloads into orbit. Modular and versatile, it takes over from its predecessor, the Ariane 5 rocket, in order to guarantee Europe autonomous access to space.

The newest addition to the Ariane launcher family presents significant innovations. The main novelty lies in its re-ignitable upper stage, capable of responding to missions with multiple payloads, such as putting satellite constellations into orbit. This same innovation will allow the deorbiting of the stage at the end of the mission, in order to limit space debris.

Like the CARIOQA mission, the Ariane  6 launch marks a new era and places Europe on its path to achieving autonomy in the space domain.

Learn more about Ariane 6 mission : https://cnes.fr/en/node/275