How to watch Europe’s powerful new rocket launch

The European Space Agency has been waiting for the first launch of Ariane 6, a powerful new rocket, for about a decade. But the brand-new vehicle is finally ready to fly — and if all goes well, European countries will once again have independent access to the final frontier, a crucial step for the space exploration and economic goals of the continent’s countries and companies.

Here’s what you need to know about the first flight of the Ariane 6 launch vehicle.

When will Ariane 6 launch and how can I watch the film?

The Ariane 6 launch is scheduled for Tuesday, July 9, from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, between 2:00 and 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

ESA streams a live broadcast of the flight on YouTube, starting at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Why does Europe need its own rockets?

Europe has not had independent access to space since 2023, when Ariane 5, the vehicle that preceded Ariane 6, flew for the last timeAnother smaller ESA rocket, Vega-C, has been grounded since 2022 due to a flight failure.

In the past, many of Europe’s missions flew on Russian Soyuz rockets. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 led to a rift in relations, leaving Europe without Russian launchers.

At the same time, Europe’s need to get into space — including for climate monitoring, navigation satellites, and exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond — has only increased. Over the past year, major ESA missions have been launched on SpaceX rockets, including the agency’s Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer, two Galileo navigation system satellites, and the Euclid space telescope. Hera, an ESA spacecraft that will visit a pair of asteroids, is expected to be launched by SpaceX in the fall.

Rather than relying on international partners, a domestically built rocket could ensure that European missions, both institutional and commercial, are prioritised on their own terms.

What’s new about Ariane 6?

The Ariane 6 was built by Arianespace, a French aerospace company, and is the latest model in a series of rockets that has been around since the 1970s.

Compared to the now-retired Ariane 5, Ariane 6 features several improvements, including an upper stage powered by an engine that can be reignited up to four times. This makes it possible to fly missions that require orbits at different altitudes on a single rocket. The final boost can also be used to maneuver the upper stage out of orbit, where it will burn up in Earth’s atmosphere rather than contributing to the growing population of space junk.

The new rocket has a maximum height of 203 feet and comes in two versions. Ariane 62, with two boosters, has a maximum liftoff weight of 540 metric tons and can deliver payloads of up to 10.3 metric tons to low Earth orbit. Ariane 64 has four boosters with a maximum liftoff weight of 870 metric tons and can deliver up to 21.6 metric tons to low Earth orbit.

The latest version of Ariane 5, on the other hand, could carry payloads of around 20 tonnes to low Earth orbit, while SpaceX’s Falcon 9 can lift almost 23 tons there.

On Tuesday, ESA will test the capabilities of its two-booster model, Ariane 62.

What will be launched on Ariane 6?

A series of small missions from companies, government agencies and research institutions will launch into space on the first flight of Ariane 6. Some of the spacecraft will be launched into orbit, including NASA’s Cubesat Radio Interferometry Experiment, which will measure how solar radiation interacts with Earth’s atmosphere. Other payloads, such as ESA’s Satellite for young professionalsremain on board and collect data during the flight.

Two reentry capsules will also be launched to demonstrate new technology that can zip through Earth’s atmosphere and possibly return cargo from space in the future.

Which spacecraft will fly with Ariane 6 in the future?

Arianespace’s launch schedule for Ariane 6 is booked through mid-2028, with 30 flights planned for various customers. This includes 18 launches for Project Kuiper, Amazon’s effort to build a space-based internet satellite constellation that will eventually compete with SpaceX’s Starlink service.

If Tuesday’s launch is a success, another Ariane 6 rocket is expected to fly as early as December. Six more launches are planned for 2025; eight more are planned for the year after that, including ESA’s. Plato missiona space telescope that will hunt for exoplanets. Eventually, Arianespace hopes to maintain an average cadence of nine flights per year.