Ariane 5 Retirement Leaves Europe With a Launch Crisis Written 12 July 2023

Spaceflight Now reports that Europe is “facing months without its own independent access to space for large satellites following the retirement of its heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket this week after notching up its 117th and final mission over 27 years of operations.” Ariane 6 is still “undergoing final development and testing.” It is behind schedule “and is unlikely to fly until the very end of this year, with some industry experts suggesting it may not make its maiden flight until later in 2024.” The situation for Europe “is compounded by its smaller vehicle, the Vega-C, remaining out of action following an in-flight failure last December and Russian Soyuz rockets no longer being available for European launches.” An older version of the Vega “is scheduled to fly in September.” European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Josef Aschbacher stated recently “that the continent finds itself in the midst of ‘an acute launcher crisis’ because of the ‘unavailability of home-grown rockets.’”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)