Arianespace Delays Second Flight of Ariane 6 Until February 2025

Arianespace has announced that the second flight of the Ariane 6 rocket has been delayed and will take place no earlier than February 2025.

When to expect the second flight of the Ariane 6?

Ariane 6 launched for the first time back in July of 2024 and an anomaly stopped the rocket’s upper stage engine from firing. The company was buoyant about this and CEO Stéphane Israel confirmed in a press conference that the anomaly would have “no consequence” on company’s other plans and that they were “perfectly on track to make the second launch this year.”

Flight two is earmarked to carry the CSO-3 spy satellite into orbit for the French forces, and will launch aboard an Ariane 6 rocket.

European Test Services (ETS) announced on 8 November that the rocket’s upper stage has been through advanced reverberation testing in ESA’s Large European Acoustic Facility, which could help to iron out some of the issues with the first flight.

Launcher production, as well as handover of the Ariane 6 launch complex are among the reasons for a delay. The main and upper stage of the rocket need to be transported from ArianeGroup’s production sites in Les Mureaux and Bremen to the launch site in French Guiana. Scheduling for other flights in the Arianespace calendar remain unchanged at present.