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Europe's Ariane 6 rocket set for first flight after information glitch

Europe's Ariane 6 rocket was set to blast off for the very first time on Tuesday, ending a. yearlong hiatus in the continent's autonomous access to space. after a lastminute data problem.

Pictures launched by the European Space Company revealed the. 56-metre rocket sitting on its launchpad in French Guiana, where. authorities explained the current weather status as green.

It looks very good. We have moderate risk of thunderstorms,. but it's getting better going into the (launch) window. So. weather needs to not be an issue today, Toni Tolker-Nielsen,. ESA's acting director of space transport, told from. the control room at Europe's equatorial space port.

The rocket was formally set up to lift off throughout a. four-hour launch window beginning at 3:00 p.m. (1800 GMT). The. area agency said regular checks had revealed a small concern in a. information acquisition system, so the first hour of the launch window. was lost and the earliest lift-off would be at 1900 GMT.

The rocket's nearly three-hour inaugural mission will not be. a commercial flight however will carry a handful of satellites and. experiments from European firms, companies and universities.

Final preparations were being performed before handing. over to computer systems around 8 minutes before launch.

We are readying whatever so that we can press that button. and begin the automated sequence, which will result in the. lift-off, Tolker-Nielsen stated.

Ariane 6 was established at an approximated expense of 4 billion. euros by ArianeGroup, co-owned by Airbus and Safran. But its. arrival, initially due in 2020, has been repeatedly delayed.

Because the agency retired its workhorse Ariane 5 rocket more. than a year earlier, Europe has had no independent methods of sending out. its satellites into area, while war in Ukraine has cut Western. ties to Russian Soyuz rockets and Italy's Vega C is grounded.

A brand-new generation of little European industrial launchers. stays in early advancement mode.

GROWING COMPETITORS

Ariane 6 is basic for Europe's area ambition,. Tolker-Nielsen stated. It is about sovereign access to space for. institutional and governmental objectives ... and this requirement has. been much more highlighted in view of the geopolitical. situation.

Europe's momentary seclusion in a significantly worldwide. space-launch market was exposed last year when European agencies. were forced to switch some payloads to the Falcon 9 rockets of. SpaceX in the United States.

Ariane 6 owes its presence to a choice by ESA's 22. countries in 2014 to develop a family of rockets in the face of. intense competition from Elon Musk's personal space venture.

The United States and lots of other countries have come to. rely greatly on Falcon 9 for reaching orbit as everyday life on. Earth becomes significantly dependent on satellite links and data.

ESA nations have released an initiative to improve a growing. variety of small-launcher tasks that could pave the way for a. future private rival to SpaceX and Ariane 6 itself.

Ariane 6 is not quite there yet in terms of. competitiveness, however they want to get there, said Ian Annett,. previous deputy CEO of the UK Area Agency.

If all complements its debut, Ariane 6 has about 30. client objectives to release over the next several years.

That includes 18 launches for Amazon's Kuiper internet. constellation of countless satellites, one of a few planned. competitors to SpaceX's Starlink.

ESA has actually set itself an initial window for further launch. efforts until July 31 if Tuesday's launching needs to be held off.

(source: Reuters)