Paris (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Europe’s Ariane 6 launcher, after several postponements, will launch its first commercial assignment on March 03, 2025, when it puts a French military intelligence satellite into space.
The execution launch from the Kourou base in French Guiana is pivotal to Europe’s actions to make up its security autonomy amid the shocks generated by the US-Russia diplomatic rapprochement.
The whole world is watching us,
Arianespace chief executive David Cavailloles said.
Ariane 5 was withdrawn in 2023 and Europe has not been able to utilize Russia’s Soyuz rocket for satellite launches since Russia’s 2022 attack on Ukraine. Ariane 6 experienced a successful test in July last year and is prepared to carry out five launches this year.
What military satellite will Ariane 6 deploy?
First planned in December, the launch was halted until February 26 and then March 3 — at 1624 GMT — because of issues getting the satellite to the Kourou base, according to Arianespace.
All launches have risks. Problems can happen with the launcher, with the satellite. We make sure that everything is ready and if it needs a few extra weeks, a few extra months, it is not a problem,
stated Lionel Suchet, head of France’s National Centre for Space Studies (CNES).
The satellite has to be protected. It has special instruments that must not be seen by just anybody,
said Catherine Leveau, CNES director of space transport.
Given the military function of the satellite being put into space, stringent security precautions are being taken to restrict access at the base while three Rafale fighter jets will patrol the nearby skies.
The CSO-3 satellite will conduct a network of three French military satellites, with the first two projected in 2018 and 2020 by Soyuz. The satellites “strengthen” France’s military autonomy, according to CNES defence consultant Philippe Steininger.
Some of the photos taken by CSO-3 will be conveyed with the German and Belgian militaries that have supported the satellites. Sweden can also access some photos in exchange for allowing France to use its space research centre around the Arctic town of Kiruna.
