Finally, Ariane 6 had its first successful commercial launch today.
The milestone came seven months after the rocketsmaiden flight, which restored sovereign access tospacefor Europe.
Ariane 6 carried CSO-3, a French military spy satellite capable of taking high resolution images of Earth.
The first two probes were launched aboardRussian Soyuz rocketsin 2018 and 2020.
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Since Moscows full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, Europe has been unable to access Soyuz rockets.
The US, meanwhile, had 109 the most a single country has ever made.
And its not just publicly-funded missions that are on track.
German startup Isar Aerospace isreadyto blast Europes first privately-funded rocket in orbit fromAndya SpaceportinNorway, pending regulatory signoff.
Isar is one of several startups likePLD SpaceandRocket Factory Augsburglooking to provide a local alternative to SpaceX.
Both of those companies are also set to launch for the first time this year.
However, Europe might not be able to replace SpaceX altogether.
Ariane 6, unlike SpaceX rockets, is not reusable.
Story bySion Geschwindt
Sion is a freelance science and technology reporter, specialising in climate and energy.
