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The space race heats up: all the news on the latest rocket launches

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Richard Lawler
Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket takes off on its first commercial mission.

Arianespace CEO Stéphane Israël has said that Ariane 6 is key to “giving Europe an autonomous access to space,” despite delays that pushed its debut from 2020 all the way to 2024.

Now it’s made a second successful launch, with the VA 263 mission carrying CSO-3, an optical spy satellite for the French military.

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