Arianespace Delays Launch Of Ariane 6 Rocket Until Early 2025

JAKARTA Arianespace, a space company from France, postponed the schedule for launching the Ariane 6 rocket. The rocket was supposed to be launched in December, but the schedule changed to February.

This news was shared on November 8, according to a Spacenews report. Arianespace revealed that Ariane 6's launch window will open starting next year's first quarter. If the launch target is successful, the rocket will fly in mid-February.

Ariane 6 was first launched last July. This rocket debut went smoothly so that officials from Arianespace and the European Space Agency (ESA) immediately discussed the second launch schedule. At that time, Ariane 6 was targeted to fly into orbit on December 3.

However, last September, technicians discussed anomalies preventing the top stage of the rocket from burning the final phase of the de-orbit. According to technicians, this problem can be solved by changing the auxiliary power unit (APU) software.

Arianespace did not explain whether this anomaly was related to the delayed launch schedule. The company only said that a small number of irregularities had been handled and the APU software had been applied to the vehicle.

For the core and top stages, these two components are still being developed at factories in France and Germany. This stage will be transported to the launch site in French Guiana in the near future.

Although Ariane 6's second launch schedule was postponed, Arianespace believes that this decision will not interfere with the next launch schedule. The Head of Commercial Arianespace, Steven Rutgersin, is still optimistic about Ariane 6's six launches next year.