Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket makes its inaugural flight

Ariane 6 is the latest in Europe's Ariane rocket series, taking over from the retired Ariane 5, and features a modular design that can launch missions from low-Earth orbit and farther out into deep space.

The inaugural flight, designated VA262, was a demonstration flight to showcase the capabilities of Ariane 6 in escaping Earth's gravity and operating in space, though it carried multiple sets of satellites on board.

At 21:06 BST, one hour after liftoff, the first set of satellites were released from the upper stage and placed into an orbit 600km above Earth. Satellites and experiments from various space agencies, companies, research institutes, universities and young professionals were included on the flight.

In addition to the rocket, the liftoff demonstrated the functioning of the launch pad and operations on the ground at Europe's Spaceport. The new custom-built dedicated launch zone was built by France's space agency CNES and allows for a faster turnover of Ariane launches.