Europe's highly anticipated inaugural launch of the next-generation rocket, Ariane 6, encountered a setback as a second stage anomaly resulted in a mission failure. The rocket successfully lifted off from Europe's spaceport in French Guiana, showcasing a flawlessly executed stage separation and ignition of the Vinci upper stage engine in orbit for the first time. However, around three hours after launch, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced an unexpected issue that affected the end of the mission.

The anomaly stemmed from the failure of an Auxiliary Propulsion Unit (APU), which caused the Ariane 6 upper stage to be unable to raise its altitude as planned. Consequently, the engine failed to reignite for a third time, preventing the upper stage from performing a necessary deorbit burn. Instead of falling back to Earth and landing in the Pacific Ocean, the second stage remains in orbit.

For its debut launch, Ariane 6 carried several small satellites and onboard technology demonstrations. While the rocket successfully completed three payload deployments, it failed to deploy two payloads later in the flight. These included small reentry capsules that were unable to perform their own deorbit burn due to the anomaly.

The 197-foot-tall (60-meter) Ariane 6 rocket, developed by French company Arianespace, serves as the successor to the retired Ariane 5. Its final flight took place in July 2023, marking the end of its impressive 27-year run. Following Ariane 5's retirement and Europe severing ties with Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, Europe has been eagerly awaiting the debut of Ariane 6 to restore its launch capabilities and participate in the new space race.

Initially scheduled for a 2020 launch, Ariane 6 faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and additional technical challenges during its development. As a result, the rocket currently has a backlog of 30 missions, with the majority intended to deliver Amazon's Project Kuiper's internet satellites to orbit.

During a press conference following the launch failure, Arianespace CEO Stephane Israel expressed confidence that upcoming launches would not be affected. However, with the history of delays surrounding the rocket's development, some skepticism remains.

Engineers will now analyze the data from the Ariane 6 launch failure in order to gain insights into the anomaly's cause. ArianeGroup CEO Martin Sion emphasized the importance of understanding the microgravity phase and gathering as much information as possible.

Despite this setback, Europe remains determined to regain autonomous access to space. Amazon, anticipating the Ariane 6 launch delays, has secured three launches aboard rockets from its rival, SpaceX, to meet FCC-mandated timeline for its prototype satellites launched last month.

The path to Europe's space ambitions may have hit a roadblock, but efforts are underway to rectify the issues and propel Ariane 6 towards future success.