VA261 – Spaceflight Now

June 22, 2026

Breaking News

[ June 22, 2026 ] NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope arrives in Florida Falcon Heavy
[ June 20, 2026 ] SpaceX to launches 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Falcon 9
[ June 18, 2026 ] SpaceX launches intelligence-gathering satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office Falcon 9
[ June 17, 2026 ] Arianespace launches its heaviest payload to date with Amazon Leo flight Ariane 6
[ June 16, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 3 Block 2 BlueBird satellites for AST SpaceMobile Falcon 9

Ending an era, Europe launches its final Ariane 5 rocket

July 6, 2023 William Harwood

Europe’s venerable Ariane 5 rocket blasted off on its 117th and final flight Wednesday, successfully boosting two communications satellites into orbit but leaving the European space program without a large satellite launcher of its own until a delayed successor comes on line.

Final Ariane 5 launch scheduled for July 4 after fixes to booster separation system

June 26, 2023 Spaceflight Now

Europe’s last Ariane 5 rocket is now scheduled to lift off July 4 after being grounded for more than two weeks due to a problem with the pyrotechnic systems required to jettison the launcher’s strap-on solid rocket boosters. Europe’s workhorse rocket is being retired after 27 years of service.