First Ariane 6 commercial flight scheduled for 3 March

The first commercial flight of Ariane 6, initially scheduled for 26 February, has been postponed due to additional operations required on ground equipment.

Operations are now complete. The new target date is Monday 3 March at 13:24 local time in Kourou, French Guiana (16:24 UTC, 17:24 CET).

Ariane 6 and its payload, the CSO-3 satellite, continue to be maintained in stable and safe conditions.

Mission VA263 will be the first commercial flight of Ariane 6, Europe’s new heavy-lift launch vehicle. It follows the success of its maiden flight on 9 July 2024.

CSO-3, a military observation satellite, will be launched on behalf of the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) and the French Space Agency (CNES) for the French Air and Space Force’s Space Command (CDE).

Bookings made for the launch initially scheduled for 26 February will still be valid for the new target date. You do not need to do anything else.

However, if you are no longer available on the new date, you can cancel your booking via our website.