Europe's Ariane 6 Rocket Delayed to 2024, Won't Compete with SpaceX This Year

The inaugural launch of Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket has been delayed until 2024, leaving Europe without independent access to space satellites. The delays have been attributed to technical issues, COVID-19, and design changes. The failure of the Vega-C rocket in December 2022 further compounds the issue. The European Commission has requested an "ad-hoc security agreement" to allow European payloads to fly on SpaceX rockets. Despite the delays, Ariane 6 has secured institutional and commercial contracts, including 18 launches for Amazon's Kuiper broadband megaconstellation project.