Ariane 6 and Starship: Next attempts for both rocket launches on Thursday
Both Europe's Ariane 6 and SpaceX's giant Starship rocket were due to take off again at the beginning of the week. That didn't work out. But now it should work.
Ariane 6 on the launch pad
(Image: ESA–S. Corvaja)
After the second launch of an Ariane 6 and the eighth test flight of a Starship were canceled, both are to take place on Thursday. This time, however, SpaceX wants to go ahead and send the giant rocket halfway around the world again at 0:30 CET. The first commercial flight of Ariane 6 is scheduled to begin on Thursday evening at 17:24 CET. Both flights will again be broadcast in live streams. Arianespace has stated that Europe's largest launcher, including the payload, is in a stable and safe condition and that the launch has been canceled due to “work still required on the ground”. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that the two rocket stages would have to be checked again before a launch.
Two livestreams announced
Ariane 6 was launched for the first time last summer, four years later than originally planned. As Ariane 5 had already been retired by then, this marked the end of a year in which Europe had no transporter of its own to launch large satellites into space. With the Vega C, the rocket for smaller loads was also unable to take off after a false launch. It too is now operational again. Ariane 6 can now transport up to 11.5 tons of payload into higher orbits and up to 21.6 tons into lower orbits. On its first flight with a commercial payload, it is now carrying a satellite for the French military. The launch will be broadcast live on YouTube.
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The eighth test flight of a SpaceX Starship now follows the failure in mid-January. Back then, the upper stage exploded a few minutes after take-off. Since then, several changes have been made to the giant rocket. The plan is for the Starship to fly the same route that was planned or completed during the previous tests. This means that the upper stage will reach the Indian Ocean. On the way there, it will deploy four dummies that are similar in size and weight to the next-generation Starlink satellites. They will then burn up. After the launch, the booster will be recovered from the launch pad. SpaceX wants to broadcast this live on X.
(mho)
