Europe's Ariane 6 rocket to make maiden launch into space on Tuesday

The new joint European launch rocket Ariane 6 is set to fly into space for the first time on Tuesday, four years later than initially planned.

The rocket is scheduled to lift off from the European spaceport in Kourou in French Guiana at 1800 GMT on Tuesday. With its maiden flight, Europe's space industry hopes to re-establish its own access to space for satellites and put a lengthy crisis in its launch vehicle sector behind it.

Ariane 6 is the successor to Ariane 5, which was in service from 1996 until the summer of 2023.

The Ariane 6 rocket is intended to launch satellites into space for both commercial and public clients and is significantly cheaper than its predecessor.

France and Germany are among the biggest financial backers of the Ariane 6 project, while additional funding was also provided by the other 20 countries that are also members of the European Space Agency (ESA).

The upper stage of the rocket will be assembled at space company ArianeGroup's factory in the northern German city of Bremen, while the rocket's main stage will be built in Les Mureaux, France.