Latest news with #Ariane6
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Science
- Hindustan Times
Europe launches Ariane 6 to send Airbus SE-made satellite into polar orbit
A troubled European rocket critical to the continent's goal of reducing its reliance on Elon Musk's SpaceX thundered off a launchpad for its third-ever mission. Ariane 6's success particularly important to European countries that are seeking to build up their defense portfolio.(X/@esa) The Ariane 6, which had its debut in July 2024 and is the centerpiece of Europe's space ambitions, lifted off from French Guiana at 8:38 p.m. New York time on Tuesday. The rocket is sending an Airbus SE-made satellite into a polar orbit for weather forecasting and climate monitoring. The European launch vehicle is one of several new rockets that have fallen behind schedule while SpaceX has increased the frequency of flights by its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, which conducted over half of all global launches last year. Tuesday's Ariane 6 flight comes on the same day as the scheduled third launch of a new rocket from United Launch Alliance, the joint venture between Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. ULA's Vulcan had its debut in January last year but hasn't flown since October due to an issue with the rocket's nozzle. If successful, the dual missions could signal a break in the launch-services logjam that's complicating plans by governments as well as commercial customers like Inc. and AST SpaceMobile Inc. seeking alternatives to SpaceX as they build out new satellite networks. 'Getting a new rocket off the launchpad the first time is hard but flipping over to production and launch at scale seems to be even harder,' said Clayton Swope, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Four next-generation rockets — Blue Origin's New Glenn and Mitsubishi Heavy's H3 in addition to the Vulcan and the Ariane 6 — had their debuts between January 2024 and January this year, raising hopes that they could help chip away at SpaceX's dominant position in the industry. However, the new rockets have flown about a dozen times combined. During that same period, SpaceX logged over 100 launches using its Falcon family of rockets. The Ariane 6 is built by the Airbus SE-Safran SA joint venture ArianeGroup and operated by its Arianespace subsidiary. The success of the rocket is particularly important to European countries that are seeking to build up their defense portfolio, including space-based military capabilities. The European Union is also working to build a network of low-Earth orbit satellites that can compete with Musk's Starlink service, a project that will require many rides to orbit. After the Ariane 6's second launch in March, ESA predicted four more flights of the rocket in 2025. Given the uncertainty about the Ariane 6 and its flight cadence, Europe may still need to use SpaceX for launching some of those projects. Already, the shortage of European rockets has led ESA to use SpaceX to launch an asteroid mission and deploy satellites. 'There is a preference to launch on European launchers,' said Sylvie Espinasse, head of ESA's office in Washington. 'But when you have a requirement, you have to make your tradeoff. If you need to, you go elsewhere.'
Euronews
an hour ago
- Business
- Euronews
Ariane 6 carrying climate monitoring satellite succesfully launched
Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket successfully launched for a third time on Tuesday night, carrying a satellite into orbit for weather forecasting and climate monitoring. "The success of this second commercial launch confirms the performance, reliability, and precision of Ariane 6," said Martin Sion, CEO of ArianeGroup, operator of the rocket. "Once again, the new European heavy-lift launcher meets Europe's needs, ensuring sovereign access to space," Sion added. It marks the second commercial flight of the rocket, which has been in development for almost a decade with the European Space Agency (ESA). It is significant as it gives Europe independent access to space and reduces its reliance on Elon Musk's SpaceX. Phil Evans, Director-General of European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), said the newly launched satellite will also help European countries "build resilience against the climate crisis". 'Extreme weather has cost Europe hundreds of billions of euros and tens of thousands of lives over the past 40 years," Evans said in a statement after the launch. He noted that the launch is a "major step forward in giving national weather services in our member states sharper tools to save lives, protect property, and build resilience against the climate crisis". Lift-off took place at Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Spacecraft separation followed after 1 hour and 4 minutes, Arianespace said. Airbus Defence and Space built the spacecraft under a contract with the ESA. It will be operated by EUMETSAT, which will distribute its data to users. The Ariane 6 was first launched in July 2024 on its inaugural flight, and was launched once again on its first commercial mission March of this year.
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Science
- Bloomberg
Europe's Ariane 6 Rocket Slated to Launch in SpaceX Challenge
A troubled European rocket critical to the continent's goal of reducing its reliance on Elon Musk's SpaceX is set to thunder off a launchpad for only its third-ever mission. The Ariane 6, which had its debut in July 2024 and is the centerpiece of Europe's space ambitions, will be sending an Airbus SE -made satellite into a polar orbit for weather forecasting and climate monitoring. The launch in French Guiana is scheduled at 8:37 p.m. New York time on Tuesday.
The Herald Scotland
04-08-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish rocket builder Skyrora gets lift-off in Shetland
At the same time, the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has dramatically curtailed Russia's capacity to conduct missions as the number of launches from its soil has fallen from 339 in 2021 to just 19 in 2023 and 17 in 2024. Europe has been particularly impacted by this. Read more: Meanwhile Donald Trump's "America First" policies and the US President's fall-out with Elon Musk of SpaceX have injected renewed vigour into the race to ramp up independent launch capabilities in Europe. At the moment the continent's only spaceport is in the South American region of French Guiana, more than 4,000 miles from Paris. Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket successfully launched from there earlier this year, more than 10 years after it was commissioned and five years later than originally planned. Scotland has set its sights on becoming a leader in the European coterie of aspiring space nations, and has moved a significant step closer to achieving this ambition with today's announcement that Skyrora has become the first company in the UK to be granted permission for for vertical rocket launches that company plans to carry out from the SaxaVord spaceport in the Shetland Isles. SaxaVord was granted permission to conduct launches by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in December 2023, making it the UK's first licenced spaceport. The SkyLark team in Cumbernauld (Image: Skyrora) 'It is essential that the UK has sovereign launch capabilities," says Volodymyr Levykin, founder and chief executive of Skyrora. "Not only to unlock commercial activity for companies that need to access space and to help achieve the government's objectives for becoming a global player in the space sector, but also from a strategic defence consideration." Growing global uncertainty exemplified by the Russian invasion of Ukraine underscores the truth of this statement from Mr Levykin, whose company has suffered the direct effects of the war in his home country. A 1998 graduate from the Zaporizhzhia National Technical University with a Master's degree in computer science, Mr Levykin spent his early career working in the online dating sector. This included a spell as an executive at the now-defunct Cupid dating empire based in Edinburgh. He moved to Silicon Valley to run another IT company based there after selling his shares in Cupid, but returned to his former home in [[Edinburgh]] to set up Skyrora and its parent company Skyrora Ventures in 2017. The rocket company has been making its SkyLark vehicles from a facility at the back end of an industrial estate in Cumbernauld since July 2022. Read more: About half of Skyrora's employees are located in Ukraine, where the "Rocket City" of Dnipro was home to Soviet space rocket manufacturing during that era. When the Soviet Union collapsed, the remnants of its space program in Ukraine were reorganized into their own space agency. Mr Levykin founded Skyrora shortly after the UK government introduced the Space Industry Bill to support development of the national sector, and naturally sought out the expertise in his homeland to bolster capability within the business. Being a rocket company in a war zone following the invasion, operations were quickly upended as new systems were put in place to protect the technology and the company's people. It's one of many obstacles that Skyrora has overcome to reach today's licencing announcement ahead of a programme that is expected to reach 16 launches per year by 2030. "Becoming the first home-grown company in the UK to receive a launch operator licence is a testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone at Skyrora," Mr Levykin said. "We are pleased to be able to move forward with our launch plans. "Given that operators like us, alongside the CAA, have been forging a new path, the journey to getting our UK licence has been a long but ultimately rewarding one." Read more: Others are due to follow with another Scottish rocket manufacturer, Orbex, now aiming to achieve its first satellite launch from SaxaVord in 2026. Orbex put work on its own spaceport in Sutherland on hold in December of last year following the surprise announcement that it had come to an agreement with former rival SaxaVord to use its launch facilities. Orbex is now focusing on the development of rockets designed specifically for launch from the Unst site. This has raised questions about the financial viability of the Sutherland spaceport going forward, but regardless of how that plays out, Scotland continues to boast outsized capability in the orbital economy with "end-to-end" expertise ranging from launchpads and rocket manufacturing to satellite construction and downstream data crunchers. It has been estimated that by 2030, the international market for launch, satellite, payload and space data services will be worth $1 trillion (£772 billion) annually. Scotland aims to capture about £4bn of this, a relatively small but nonetheless ambitious target that would go a long way towards revitalising the country's economy. Read more: In this sense, today's licencing announcement isn't limited to one company making rockets in Cumbernauld. "It's an exciting time for the Scottish space sector – an important industry which is playing a vital role in our Plan for Change, helping economic growth and employing thousands of people in good quality jobs across the country," Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said. "Glasgow, in particular, is a city and region with a huge role to play in the space race, with innovation in this field the focus of its £160 million UK Government-funded investment zone status. This zone, established with local partners, is expected to generate around £300m of initial private investment and support up to 10,000 jobs in the region."
The Star
10-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
Europe looks to Nordic space race to scale back US dependence
KIRUNA, Sweden (Reuters) -Two small spaceports in the far north of Sweden and Norway are racing to launch the first satellites from mainland Europe into space as the region looks to reduce its reliance on U.S. players. U.S. President Donald Trump's "America First" policies and the war in Ukraine have prompted Europe to ramp up its independent capabilities in a variety of areas, including defence and space operations. Amid fears that Elon Musk - Trump's one-time ally - could limit Ukraine's access to SpaceX's 7,000 Starlink satellites that are vital for the country's communications, Europe has been rushing to find alternatives. But there's a mountain to climb. In 2024, the U.S. carried out 154 launches of hardware into orbit, while Europe managed just three. Out of $143 billion in global public investment in space ventures last year, Europe accounted for only 10%, an EU study shows. The trend towards lower Earth orbit satellites - which are cheaper and offer better connections but need to be deployed in larger numbers to maximise coverage - also poses challenges. A Goldman Sachs report estimates that 70,000 LEO satellites could be launched in the next five years, a tenfold increase. "We've lost (in) competition to, let's say, Elon Musk ... and definitely we need to have our (own) autonomous launching possibilities," Andrius Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defence and Space, told Reuters. "That's why the development of launching possibilities on the European continent, both in Sweden and Norway, is very important." Europe's only spaceport is in French Guiana, South America, some 7,000 kilometres (4,350 miles) from Paris. Europe successfully launched its new Ariane 6 rocket from there earlier this year, more than 10 years after it was commissioned and five years later than originally planned. While it can carry a bigger payload per rocket than SpaceX's Falcon 9, Ariane 6 is not reusable and has a higher cost per launch. It is also not nearly enough to meet Europe's commercial and military needs in coming years. That's where the budding Nordic spaceports come in. RARE ADVANTAGE Situated 200 kilometres above the Arctic circle, near where the borders of Sweden, Finland, Norway and Russia converge, the Esrange Space Centre is unusual in Europe in offering 5,200 square kilometres (2,008 square miles) of uninhabited land. Surrounded by boglands, rivers and with the snow-clad peaks of Sweden's tallest mountain in the distance, Esrange is close to Kiruna, home to one of the world's largest underground iron ore mines, providing ready access to railroads and an airport. The area, more than three times the size of London, is shared only by the spaceport and the reindeer herds of Sweden's indigenous Sami, making it suitable for recovering rocket parts. It has little light pollution and is easy to close to air traffic. "It is unique, having a large land-based area such as the one we have here," said Lennart Poromaa, head of the Esrange Space Center, which has about 130 employees. Esrange, part of the state-owned Swedish Space Corporation, was established in 1964 and launched its first sounding rocket - a research rocket that does not go into orbit - a couple of years later. It was inaugurated as mainland Europe's first orbital launch site by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in 2023. Preparations for orbital launches are well underway, with a new set of bigger launch pads, hangars and research facilities being readied. Together with Andoya Spaceport, an island base in northern Norway, it represents Europe's best hope of securing independent access to space in the coming years. Andoya is majority-owned by the Norwegian state, with defence firm Kongsberg holding a 10% stake. In March, Andoya conducted the first test launch of a small rocket made by German startup ISAR Aerospace that can carry a payload of around 1,000 kilograms (2,205 pounds). It flew for 30 seconds before falling into the sea in what was deemed a success. Daniel Metzler, CEO and co-founder of ISAR, said interest from defence ministries in the last six months had been huge and that ISAR's flights were being filled for the coming years, even before a first successful orbital launch. "Frankly, I think probably the biggest driver was Trump getting elected once again. And as such, Trump probably did more for European defence than any European politician before him. It really created a huge sense of urgency," he said. ISAR is aiming for the first commercial flights to take place next year. AGGRESSIVE TIMELINES Andoya, visited by a NATO delegation this month, has a licence for 30 launches per year. Esrange has not set a fixed target but will also fill an important need for NATO in providing rapid launch capacity. Unlike Andoya, Esrange has opted for existing hardware, signing contracts with U.S. rocket manufacturer Firefly and South Korea's Perigee, giving it multiple potential options. Firefly, which plans to launch from Esrange from 2026, has a rapid response service that aims to be able to send rockets into space at 24 hours' notice to meet urgent needs, such as replacing a failing satellite. "I think Europe needs to look at similar or even more aggressive timelines," a NATO official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. All of the rocket suppliers are developing partially reusable rockets, with ISAR's due to be tested at Esrange. But there is much work to do across the board. "You need to get all the technical systems in place and then there will be quite a lot of testing and trialling," said Esrange's Poromaa. "Within a year or so, we'll probably have the entire base ready." (Reporting by Johan Ahlander. Editing by Niklas Pollard and Mark Potter)
