KOUROU: Europe\u2019s new heavy-lift rocket, Ariane 6, is to carry out Monday its first commercial mission as European nations seek to secure independent access to space amid a shock rapprochement between Moscow and Washington.
\nThe high-profile mission comes as French President Emmanuel Macron calls for Europe to reduce its security reliance on the United States and the European space industry struggles to remain competitive in the face of Elon Musk\u2019s Space X.
\nFollowing several postponements, the Ariane 6 rocket is scheduled to blast off from a spaceport in Kourou in French Guiana at 13:24 (16:24 GMT) Monday.
\nThe launcher will carry a French military satellite, which will be placed in orbit at an altitude of around 800 kilometers (500 miles).
\nThe CSO-3 satellite is expected to strengthen France\u2019s military autonomy and improve its army\u2019s intelligence capabilities.
\nEurope has not been able to use Russia\u2019s Soyuz rocket for satellite launches after Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, while Ariane 5 was retired in 2023.
\n\u201cThe whole world is watching us,\u201d David Cavailloles, chief executive of French aerospace company Arianespace, told AFP in February.
\nInitially planned for December, the mission was put back until February 26 and then March 3 because of problems getting the satellite to the Kourou launchpad, according to Arianespace.
\nIt will be the second launch for Ariane 6, after its inaugural flight last July.
\nCSO-3 will complete a network of three French military imaging satellites, with the first two launched in 2018 and 2020 by Soyuz.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s always better to have your own launcher and to fire it from home,\u201d General Philippe Steininger, a consultant for the French Space Agency (CNES), told AFP.
\nGiven the military role of the satellite being put into space, strict security precautions were being taken to limit access at the spaceport on the northern coast of South America while three Rafale fighter jets were set to patrol the surrounding skies.
\n\u201cThe satellite has to be protected,\u201d said Carine Leveau, CNES director of space transport. \u201cIt has special instruments that must not be seen by just anybody.\u201d
\nThe satellites will enable the French army to receive extremely high-resolution images.
\n\u201cIt is very important for the armed forces to conduct their operations and for our political authorities to make decisions in a completely sovereign manner, with first-hand information that does not depend on anyone else,\u201d said Steininger, the author of \u201cSpace Revolutions.\u201d
\n\u201cThis satellite makes it possible to produce very accurate military maps thanks to 3D imaging,\u201d he added.
\nEurope\u2019s other launcher, Vega-C, did not resume flights until December 2024 after being grounded for two years following an accident that resulted in the loss of two satellites.
\nThe mishap left Europe without spacecraft to launch satellites into orbit for a year, following delays to the Ariane 6 rocket and lack of cooperation with Russia.
\n\u201cIt was very important for France and for Europe to regain this autonomous access to space because we cannot have a space policy today without having the means to send our satellites into space independently,\u201d Lionel Suchet, CNES acting head, told AFP.
\n\u201cWhat counts in these cases is to be sure that everything is secure. Like all launches, it is a risky launch,\u201d he added.
\nSome of the images taken by the CSO-3 satellite will be shared with Germany, Belgium and Sweden.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KOUROU: Europe\u2019s new heavy-lift rocket, Ariane 6, is to carry out Monday its first commercial mission as European nations seek to secure independent access to space amid a shock rapprochement between Moscow and Washington. The high-profile mission comes as French President Emmanuel Macron calls for Europe to reduce its security reliance on the United States […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":464871,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-464858","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n