Ariane 6 rocket successfully launches, flight in progress – POLITICO

GUIANA SPACE CENTRE, French Guiana — Arcing away from the coastal periphery of the Amazon rainforest at 4 p.m. local time, Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket launched today on its first — heavily delayed — mission to space.

While the European Space Agency will only be able to declare the launch a success after more than an hour of flight, clearing the 450 seconds until the first boost of the cryogenic upper stage Vinci engine marks a critical early milestone.

Until that point, engineers could terminate the mission should the rocket deviate from its planned trajectory. After that, the rocket will continue its test mission of deploying a series of research spacecraft.