ESA Ariane 6

Here's the official Ariane 6 VA263 CSO-3 launch video:


On March 6, 2025 at 1:24 p.m. local time in Kourou, French Guiana (4:24 p.m. UTC, 5:24 p.m. CET), Ariane 6, the new European heavy-lift launcher operated by Arianespace, lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport carrying the CSO-3 satellite on behalf of the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA) and the French space agency (CNES), for the French Air and Space Force’s Space Command (CDE).
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With this first commercial mission, Ariane 6 successfully placed CSO-3 into sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) at an altitude of 800 km. Spacecraft separation occurred 1 hour and 6 minutes after lift-off.
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CSO-3 is the third satellite in the MUSIS (MUltinational Space-based Imaging System) program led by the DGA. This Earth observation system of three satellites is designed for defense and security purposes. They are equipped with the latest generation of optical sensors and guarantee the continuity of France’s optical Earth surveillance resources, transmitting very high resolution (VHR) images for France’s armed forces and its European partners. CSO-1 and CSO-2 were both successfully launched by Arianespace, in 2018 and 2020 respectively. Each satellite was developed by Airbus Defence and Space as prime contractor, with Thales Alenia Space prime contractor for the VHR optical instrument.
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David Cavaillolès, CEO of Arianespace, said: “The successful launch of CSO-3 is a great day for European space and marks the beginning of the Ariane 6’s commercial operation. With this further success, we are consolidating our independent access to space and helping to guarantee sovereignty on behalf of our citizens. It is an honor for Arianespace to have delivered the entire CSO system to orbit and to have accompanied France and its European partners in this strategic mission. I thank the Ministry for the Armed Forces, Space Command, the French Defense Procurement Agency and CNES for their renewed confidence.”
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CNES CEO Lionel Suchet said, “I am delighted at the successful launch of the French defense satellite CSO-3 for CNES and the DGA. This launch success, Ariane 6’s first commercial mission, is excellent news in so many ways and clearly demonstrates European and French excellence in space, to the benefit of our citizens. In orbiting of this third CSO satellite, CNES is providing the armed forces with operational support for the continuation of their space capabilities. I congratulate all the teams who worked to ensure the success of this launch, both in preparing the satellite and carrying out this first Ariane 6 commercial mission.”
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“With this success, Ariane confirms the return of autonomous access to space for Europe. It demonstrates the quality of the industrial development of Europe’s new heavy-lift launcher. This success is the result of unique European industrial cooperation. I want to thank the Ministry of Armed Forces for its renewed confidence as well as all employees from ArianeGroup and its partners for their unwavering commitment,” said Martin Sion, CEO of ArianeGroup. « All our efforts are now focused on ramping up the Ariane 6 production ».
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For this first commercial mission, the Ariane 6 vehicle was in the two-booster Ariane 62 configuration with a short fairing.
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Versatile and competitive, Ariane 6 achieves a major production ramp up in order to meet the requirements of European institutional missions, as well as the growing needs of the commercial market.
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Ariane 6 is a program developed within the framework of the European Space Agency (ESA). As prime contractor and design authority for the launcher, ArianeGroup is responsible for development and production alongside its industrial partners. Ariane 6 is marketed and operated by Arianespace as of this first commercial flight.
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Liftoff is at 31:15 into the video.
 
Philippe Baptiste, France's minister for research and higher education, says Ariane 6 is "proof of our space sovereignty," as many European officials feel they can no longer rely on the United States. Baptiste, an engineer and former head of the French space agency, mentioned "sovereignty" so many times, turning his statement into a drinking game crossed my mind.

"The return of Donald Trump to the White House, with Elon Musk at his side, already has significant consequences on our research partnerships, on our commercial partnerships," Baptiste said. "Should I mention the uncertainties weighing today on our cooperation with NASA and NOAA, when emblematic programs like the ISS (International Space Station) are being unilaterally questioned by Elon Musk?

"If we want to maintain our independence, ensure our security, and preserve our sovereignty, we must equip ourselves with the means for strategic autonomy, and space is an essential part of this," he continued.
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But European officials have freely admitted the commercial market is secondary on their list of Ariane 6 goals.

European satellite operators stopped launching their payloads on Russian rockets after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Now, with Elon Musk inserting himself into European politics, there's little appetite among European government officials to launch their satellites on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.
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arstechnica.com

When Europe needed it most, the Ariane 6 rocket finally delivered

“For this sovereignty, we must yield to the temptation of preferring SpaceX.”…
arstechnica.com arstechnica.com
 
Same here NMaude, I want to see the first Ariane 64 lift-of succeed as well like Ariane 6.
 
During a panel discussion at the Satellite 2025 conference March 10, David Cavaillolès, the new chief executive of Arianespace, said geopolitical tensions since the start of the Trump administration had provided a clear example of the need for Europe to have its own means of accessing space, something it lacked for a time given delays in the introduction of the Ariane 6 and problems with the smaller Vega C rocket.

“Autonomous access to space is one of our missions for decades, so this is not new,” he said. “What is new is that, in the past sometimes, it sounded a bit theoretical and so on. And now, I think, people really understand what it means to have sovereign domestic capabilities to deliver end-to-end missions.”

“We should see an increase an institutional demand,” he added. While ESA and the European Commission have used Ariane for their missions when that vehicle was available, some national governments have turned to SpaceX in particular for launching their satellites rather than use Ariane.
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He reiterated Arianespace’s desire to get the Ariane 6 up to full capacity, about 10 launches a year, as soon as possible. That is required to meet the demands of its largest commercial customer, Amazon’s Project Kuiper constellation. However, Cavaillolès said he expects stronger institutional demand to emerge in the years to come.

“Clearly, today we see that the market, especially the institutional market, is growing faster than the supply,” he said. “Our challenge is to ramp up successfully as quick as possible.”
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spacenews.com

Arianespace sees stronger institutional demand for Ariane 6 amid shifting geopolitics

The successful second flight of Europe’s Ariane 6 has become an opportunity for European officials to highlight the need for “strategic autonomy” in space.
spacenews.com spacenews.com
 
Europe needs more than ten launches a year if it wants to be a competitor, not just lifting a few institutional payloads and a few commercial ones every so often. Hopefully someone outside of Arianespace will get both the opportunity and resources to tackle it.
 

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