SpaceX's Starship spacecraft disintegrated soon after launch on Thursday, but thousands of miles away another new rocket enjoyed an easier ride on its first commercial mission.

The 184-foot-tall (56-meter) rocket lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, at 11:24 am EST (16:24 UTC). Twin solid-fueled ...

Since the retirement of the workhorse Ariane 5 in 2023, Europe has had little independent access to space, with war in Ukraine cutting Western ties to Russian Soyuz rockets and Italy's Vega C ...

Ariane 6 replaces the retired Ariane 5 and aims to reduce European reliance on other space-faring nations. David Cavaillolès, ...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Europe's powerful Ariane 6 rocket just launched for the second time ever. The Ariane 6 ...

Since the retirement of the workhorse Ariane 5 in 2023, Europe has had little independent access to space, with war in Ukraine cutting Western ties to Russian Soyuz rockets and Italy's Vega C ...

As Ariane 5 had already been retired by then, this marked the end of a year in which Europe had no transporter of its own to launch large satellites into space. With the Vega C, the rocket for ...

Europe has not been able to use Russia's Soyuz rockets since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022, while the workhorse Ariane 5 was retired in 2023. European nations have been trying to boost their ...

Meanwhile, the retirement of the Ariane 5 in 2023 and delays to the new Vega-C small-launch vehicle left the continent without independent access to space. Europe was forced to rely on Elon Musk ...

Europe has not been able to use Russia's Soyuz rockets since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022, while the workhorse Ariane 5 was retired in 2023. The mission had taken on greater symbolic ...

As Ariane-5 was not available and Vega-C not powerful enough, it took until Ariane-6 was commissioned two years later, as there was no question of launching this strategic satellite out of Kourou ...