Just over six months ago the European Space Agency (ESA) revealed the much-anticipated Ariane 6 would debut by the end of 2023, but now in the second quarter of the year, it is becoming clearer that the heavy-lift rocket won’t fly until 2024.
While ESA or ArianeGroup, which is developing the vehicle, hasn’t officially announced the further delay, one of the component suppliers of the rocket, Germany-based OHB, said in a financial earnings call last week that it will likely launch next year. Further, on Friday, ESA posted a new update on the Ariane 6’s progress, and the key milestones it is required to achieve before launch are already well behind previously stated schedule goals.