European satellite launcher set for first commercial blast off

After several postponements, Europe's Ariane 6 launcher will carry out its first commercial mission on Monday when it puts a French military intelligence satellite into space. Ariane 6 underwent a successful test in July last year and is scheduled to carry out five launches this year.

First scheduled in December, the launch was put back until February 26 and then March 3 because of problems getting the satellite to the Kourou base, according to Arianespace. Given the military role of the satellite being put into space, strict security precautions are being taken to limit access at the base while three Rafale fighter jets will patrol the surrounding skies.

The CSO-3 satellite will complete a network of three French military satellites, with the first two launched in 2018 and 2020 by Soyuz. Some of the images taken by CSO-3 will be shared with the German and Belgian militaries that have invested in the satellites.