After a long wait: Ariane 6 to take off – A chronology

The launch window opens for four hours at 8 p.m. (CEST). The new rocket will replace its predecessor, Ariane 5, which was in use from 1996 to 2023.

• Read more: European rocket Ariane 6 to fly into space for the first time

An overview:

• 2010 – Germany and France are jointly planning the construction of Ariane 6. It is to follow the Ariane 5, which is up to 52 meters high and can carry almost ten tons of payload into space. The new version is to be modular and extremely robust.
• 2013 – According to a concept by the European Space Agency (ESA), the new launch vehicle will have four engines, each with around 135 tonnes of solid fuel. However, the implementation of the construction remains open. As one of the main financiers of the ESA, Germany initially only wants to further develop the Ariane 5.
• 2015 – ESA commissions the rocket manufacturer Airbus Safran Launchers (ASL) to develop the Ariane 6. The contract is worth 2.4 billion euros. In the following year, there will be a contract for a second budget tranche of 1.7 billion euros. The aim is to transport satellites into space much more cheaply than with the Ariane 5.
• 2019 – According to rocket operator Arianespace, Ariane 6 is scheduled to launch for the first time in July 2020.
• 2020 – The corona pandemic is causing delays and interruptions in production and testing phases. At the same time, it is causing high costs. The launch of the rocket will initially be postponed to 2021 and later to 2022 due to the pandemic.
• 2021 – Germany and France provide additional money. In November, an upper stage of the Ariane 6 will travel from Bremen, Germany, to the Kourou spaceport for the first time.
• 2022 – After a successful hot run test of the complete upper stage at the beginning of October, the planned first flight of the Ariane 6 has been postponed to the end of 2023, later to 2024. New requirements from commercial customers and the need for additional tests are extending the development schedule.
• 2023 – At the beginning of July, an Ariane 5 will be launched into space for the last time. Since then, ESA has lacked its own transporters to launch large satellites into space. Since a failed launch of the Vega C on its first commercial flight in December 2022, this rocket has also remained on the ground for the time being.
• 2024 – The main and upper stages of the Ariane 6 will arrive in Kourou in February. In June, the first flight into space is scheduled for July 9.