Europe’s Ariane 6 launch pad, after eight years and well over $700M, is inaugurated, delivered to customer ESA

by Peter B. de Selding

PARIS — The French space agency, CNES, on Sept. 28 handed over the new Ariane 6 launch complex to its customer, the 22-nation European Space Agency (ESA), concluding an eight-year development program that fell two years behind schedule and well exceeded its budget of 600 million euros ($715 million).

Ariane 6 prime contractor ArianeGroup will now have access to the launch pad to begin a months-long series of Ariane 6 testing with the goal of conducting the vehicle’s inaugural flight in less than a . . .

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