Europe’s powerful Ariane 6 rocket launches for 3rd time ever, sending weather satellite to orbit (video)
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Europe’s powerful Ariane 6 rocket launches for 3rd time ever, sending weather satellite to orbit (video)
The powerful Ariane 6 lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The payload this time was Metop-SGA1, an 8,900-pound (4,040-kilogram) weather satellite. The satellite will provide high-resolution observations of temperature, precipitation, clouds, winds, sea ice, aerosols, pollution, soil moisture, volcanic dust and a multitude of other parameters. The rocket debuted with a test flight in July 2024 and flew again this past March, successfully sending a French spy satellite to Earth orbit on the rocket’s first-ever commercial mission. It was the third-ever liftoff for Arianespace, the successor to the recently retired Ariane 5.
The powerful Ariane 6 lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana today at 8:37 p.m. EDT (9:37 p.m. local time in Kourou; 0037 GMT on Aug. 13).
Ariane 6, the successor to the recently retired Ariane 5, is operated by the French company Arianespace on behalf of the European Space Agency. The rocket debuted with a test flight in July 2024 and flew again this past March, successfully sending a French spy satellite to Earth orbit on the rocket’s first-ever commercial mission.
An Arianespace Ariane 6 rocket launches the Metop-SGA1 weather satellite from Kourou, French Guiana on Aug. 12, 2025. It was the Ariane 6’s third-ever liftoff. (Image credit: Arianespace)
Flight number three occured tonight. The payload this time was Metop-SGA1, an 8,900-pound (4,040-kilogram) weather satellite that will be operated by the international group EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites).
Ariane 6 deployed Metop-SGA1 into a polar orbit about 500 miles (800 kilometers) above Earth 64 minutes after liftoff tonight as planned, Arianespace announced via X.
After a checkout period, the satellite will start using its six onboard instruments to gather a variety of weather and climate data. It will continue to do so across its operational life expected to last 7.5 years.
“The satellite will take global observation of weather and climate from a polar orbit to a new level, providing high-resolution observations of temperature, precipitation, clouds, winds, sea ice, aerosols, pollution, soil moisture, volcanic dust and a multitude of other parameters,” Arianespace representatives wrote in a mission description.
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Technicians prepare to encapsulate the Metop-SGA1 weather satellite inside the payload fairing of its Ariane 6 rocket ahead of a planned Aug. 12, 2025 launch. (Image credit: Arianespace)
Metop-SGA1, which was built by Airbus Defence and Space, is the first of six planned satellites in the Metop Second Generation constellation.
Tonight’s liftoff was the 355th to date for Arianespace, which also currently operates a smaller rocket called the Vega C. Metop-SGA1 was the 15th spacecraft the company has launched for EUMETSAT and the 21st meteorological satellite it has lofted overall, according to the Arianespace mission description.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 8:45 p.m. EDT on Aug. 12 with news of a successful liftoff, then again at 1:35 a.m. EDT on Aug. 13 with news of satellite deployment.
Europe’s Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket launches for third time – VIDEO
The Ariane 6 rocket took off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana today. The rocket debuted with a test flight in July 2024 and flew again this past March. The payload this time was Metop-SGA1, an 8,900-pound (4,040-kilogram) weather satellite that will be operated by the international group EUMETSAT. The satellite will start using its six onboard instruments to gather a variety of weather and climate data.
The powerful Ariane 6 lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana today at 8:37 p.m. EDT (9:37 p.m. local time in Kourou; 0037 GMT on Aug. 13), News.Az reports, citing Space.com.
Ariane 6, the successor to the recently retired Ariane 5, is operated by the French company Arianespace on behalf of the European Space Agency. The rocket debuted with a test flight in July 2024 and flew again this past March, successfully sending a French spy satellite to Earth orbit on the rocket’s first-ever commercial mission.
Flight number three occured tonight. The payload this time was Metop-SGA1, an 8,900-pound (4,040-kilogram) weather satellite that will be operated by the international group EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites).
Ariane 6 deployed Metop-SGA1 into a polar orbit about 500 miles (800 kilometers) above Earth 64 minutes after liftoff tonight as planned, Arianespace announced via X.
After a checkout period, the satellite will start using its six onboard instruments to gather a variety of weather and climate data. It will continue to do so across its operational life expected to last 7.5 years.
“The satellite will take global observation of weather and climate from a polar orbit to a new level, providing high-resolution observations of temperature, precipitation, clouds, winds, sea ice, aerosols, pollution, soil moisture, volcanic dust and a multitude of other parameters,” Arianespace representatives wrote in a mission description.
Metop-SGA1, which was built by Airbus Defence and Space, is the first of six planned satellites in the Metop Second Generation constellation.
Tonight’s liftoff was the 355th to date for Arianespace, which also currently operates a smaller rocket called the Vega C. Metop-SGA1 was the 15th spacecraft the company has launched for EUMETSAT and the 21st meteorological satellite it has lofted overall, according to the Arianespace mission description.
News.Az
Vulcan Centaur rocket launches experimental military satellite on its 1st-ever national security mission (video)
United Launch Alliance launched its most powerful rocket yet on Tuesday night (Aug. 12) The company lofted an experimental navigation satellite on behalf of the U.S. military. The rocket’s first flight in January 2024 saw Vulcan launch Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander toward the moon. About 39 seconds into flight, a burst of flame and material was seen emanating from the rocket’s end. But the anomaly was later attributed to a manufacturing defect on a nozzle on one of the solid side boosters.. Vulcan Centaur has already been tapped to launch over two dozen national security missions, according to ULA. That brings the number of launch providers certified to launch military and spy satellites to two, the other being SpaceX. The 202-foot-tall (61-meter) Vulcan Centaura has made two successful flights thus far, with the second scheduled for Oct. 4, 2024.
The company lofted an experimental navigation satellite on behalf of the U.S. military Tuesday at 8:56 p.m. EDT (0056 GMT on Aug. 13). The mission saw the company’s powerful new Vulcan Centaur rocket take off from Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Vulcan launched with four side-mounted solid rocket boosters in order to generate enough thrust to send its payload directly into geosynchronous orbit on one of ULA’s longest flights ever, a seven-hour journey that will span over 22,000 miles (35,000 kilometers), according to ULA .
A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket launches the USSF-106 mission for the U.S. Space Force from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Aug. 12, 2025. (Image credit: ULA)
The payload launching on Tuesday’s mission was the U.S. military’s first experimental navigation satellite to be launched in 48 years. It is what’s known as a position, navigation and timing (PNT) satellite, a type of spacecraft that provides data similar to that of the well-known GPS system.
This satellite will be testing many experimental new technologies that are designed to make it resilient to jamming and spoofing , according to Andrew Builta with L3Harris Technologies, the prime contractor for the PNT payload integrated onto a satellite bus built by Northrop Grumman.
The satellite, identified publicly only as Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3), features a phased array antenna that allows it to “focus powerful beams to ground forces and combat jamming environments,” Builta said in a media roundtable on Monday (Aug. 11). GPS jamming has become an increasingly worrisome problem for both the U.S. military and commercial satellite operators, which is why this spacecraft will be conducting experiments to test how effective these new technologies are at circumventing jamming attacks .
In addition, the satellite features a software architecture that allows it to be reprogrammed while in orbit. “This is a truly game-changing capability,” Builta said.
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The 202-foot-tall (61-meter) Vulcan Centaur has made two successful flights thus far. The rocket’s first flight in January 2024 saw Vulcan launch Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander toward the moon — only for the lander to suffer an anomaly and fall back to Earth through no fault of the rocket.
The second Vulcan Centaur launch took place in October 2024 when the rocket launched a mass simulator meant to prepare it for lofting Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser space plane. That flight was supposed to launch the actual Dream Chaser, but the vehicle wasn’t ready in time .
That second flight also saw an anomaly, this time on the rocket’s end. About 39 seconds into flight, a burst of flame and material was seen emanating from the Vulcan. The anomaly was later attributed to a manufacturing defect on a nozzle on one of the rocket’s solid side boosters.
A burst of flame sparks from United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket about 39 seconds after liftoff on the Cert-2 test flight on Oct. 4, 2024. (Image credit: United Launch Alliance)
Vulcan overcame the anomaly, and ULA declared the flight a success. The U.S. Space Force then certified Vulcan Centaur for national security launches such as today’s mission. That brings the number of launch providers certified to launch military and spy satellites to two, the other being SpaceX.
Vulcan Centaur has already been tapped to launch over two dozen national security missions on behalf of the U.S. Space Force, according to ULA. The rocket can launch from both Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 9:10 p.m. ET on Aug. 12 with news of successful liftoff.
Europe’s powerful Ariane 6 rocket launches for 3rd time ever, sending weather satellite to orbit (video)
The powerful Ariane 6 lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana today at 8:37 p.m. EDT. The payload this time was Metop-SGA1, an 8,900-pound (4,040-kilogram) weather satellite that will be operated by the international group EUMETSAT. The rocket debuted with a test flight in July 2024 and flew again this past March, successfully sending a French spy satellite to Earth orbit on the rocket’s first-ever commercial mission. The satellite will take global observation of weather and climate from a polar orbit to a new level, providing high-resolution observations of temperature, precipitation, clouds, sea ice, aerosols, pollution, soil moisture, volcanic dust.
Credit: Arianespace
Europe’s Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket launched for the third time ever tonight (Aug. 12), sending an advanced weather and climate satellite to orbit.
The powerful Ariane 6 lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana today at 8:37 p.m. EDT (9:37 p.m. local time in Kourou; 0037 GMT on Aug. 13).
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Ariane 6, the successor to the recently retired Ariane 5, is operated by the French company Arianespace on behalf of the European Space Agency. The rocket debuted with a test flight in July 2024 and flew again this past March, successfully sending a French spy satellite to Earth orbit on the rocket’s first-ever commercial mission.
An Arianespace Ariane 6 rocket launches the Metop-SGA1 weather satellite from Kourou, French Guiana on Aug. 12, 2025. It was the Ariane 6’s third-ever liftoff. | Credit: Arianespace
Flight number three occured tonight. The payload this time was Metop-SGA1, an 8,900-pound (4,040-kilogram) weather satellite that will be operated by the international group EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites).
Ariane 6 deployed Metop-SGA1 into a polar orbit about 500 miles (800 kilometers) above Earth 64 minutes after liftoff tonight as planned, Arianespace announced via X.
After a checkout period, the satellite will start using its six onboard instruments to gather a variety of weather and climate data. It will continue to do so across its operational life expected to last 7.5 years.
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“The satellite will take global observation of weather and climate from a polar orbit to a new level, providing high-resolution observations of temperature, precipitation, clouds, winds, sea ice, aerosols, pollution, soil moisture, volcanic dust and a multitude of other parameters,” Arianespace representatives wrote in a mission description.
Technicians prepare to encapsulate the Metop-SGA1 weather satellite inside the payload fairing of its Ariane 6 rocket ahead of a planned Aug. 12, 2025 launch. | Credit: Arianespace
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Metop-SGA1, which was built by Airbus Defence and Space, is the first of six planned satellites in the Metop Second Generation constellation.
Tonight’s liftoff was the 355th to date for Arianespace, which also currently operates a smaller rocket called the Vega C. Metop-SGA1 was the 15th spacecraft the company has launched for EUMETSAT and the 21st meteorological satellite it has lofted overall, according to the Arianespace mission description.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 8:45 p.m. EDT on Aug. 12 with news of a successful liftoff, then again at 1:35 a.m. EDT on Aug. 13 with news of satellite deployment.
European Vega C rocket launches CO2-mapping satellite, 4 Earth-observation spacecraft to orbit (video)
A rocket carrying a carbon dioxide-mapping satellite and four Earth-observation spacecraft launched successfully tonight. Arianespace’s Vega C rocket lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. One of the satellites was MicroCarb, a project led by the French space agency CNES. The other four satellites will make up CNES’ CO3D (“Constellation Optique en 3D”) Earth- Observers constellation, which weighs about 550 pounds (250 kg) Each spacecraft in the quartet will operate in sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 312 miles (502 km) for at least six years.
A Vega C rocket, operated by the French company Arianespace, lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana on schedule tonight at 10:03 p.m. EDT (11:03 p.m. local time in Kourou; 0203 GMT on July 26).
The four-stage, 115-foot-tall (35 meters) Vega C is carried five satellites on the mission, which Arianespace called VV27.
An Arianespace Vega C rocket launches the MicroCarb satellite and four CO3D Earth-observation satellites from Kourou, French Guiana on July 25, 2025. (Image credit: Arianespace)
One was MicroCarb, a project led by the French space agency CNES. This 400-pound (180-kilogram) satellite “is designed to map sources and sinks of carbon dioxide (CO2) — the most important greenhouse gas — on a global scale,” CNES officials wrote in a mission description.
MicroCarb will be able to determine CO2 concentrations with a precision of one part per million. The satellite will operate in sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 404 miles (650 kilometers), for at least five years, if all goes to plan.
The other four satellites will make up CNES’ CO3D (“Constellation Optique en 3D”) Earth-observing constellation. Each spacecraft in the quartet weighs about 550 pounds (250 kg) and will operate in sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 312 miles (502 km) for at least six years, according to CNES.
The satellites, which were built by Airbus, “have a unique optical instrument with a spatial resolution of approximately 50 cm [20 inches] in the red, green and blue visible bands and in the near-infrared,” CNES wrote in a mission description. “After processing on the ground, their data will yield 3D maps of all of Earth’s land surfaces between -60 degree and +70 degree latitudes.”
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The CO3D satellites were deployed on schedule around 57 minutes after liftoff, and MicroCarb followed suit 44 minutes later.
VV27 was the fifth launch overall for the Vega C, and the third since an anomaly in the rocket’s second stage caused a mission failure in December 2022.
The most recent three flights, counting tonight’s have all been successful. The Vega C also lofted the Sentinel-1C Earth-observation satellite and Biomass forest-monitoring spacecraft, both of them European Space Agency missions, in December 2024 and April 2025, respectively.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 10:13 p.m. ET on July 25 with news of a successful liftoff, and again at 12:25 a.m. ET on July 26 with news of satellite deployment.