Posted: Sun, Oct 23, 2022, 10:01 AM ET (1401 GMT)
ESA announced Wednesday that the first launch of the Ariane 6 has slipped again, this time to late 2023. Officials with ESA, prime contractor ArianeGroup and launch services company Arianespace did not give a specific reason for the delay, the latest in a series for a vehicle once set to debut in 2020. They said static-fire testing of the rocket's upper stage is in progress, as well as tests of launch site infrastructure using a vehicle prototype. Those tests will continue to the first quarter of 2023 as ArianeGroup completes assembly of the first flight model of the Ariane 6. Development of Ariane 6 has cost Europe nearly 4 billion euros ($3.9 billion), and ESA plans to seek additional funding at next month's ministerial meeting both for upgrades to the rocket and to increase production.

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