European Space Agency launches inaugural Ariane 6 rocket, encounters upper stage issue

The inaugural launch of the Ariane 6 rocket, which was lauded from those from the President of France to the NASA Administrator, hit a notable snag in the third and final phase of the mission. Part of the rocket’s upper stage, called the Auxiliary Propulsion Unit (APU), was powered on for a third time as intended, but it quickly shut off after only seconds, causing the upper stage to deviate from its planned trajectory. During a post-launch press conference, leadership within the European Space Agency (ESA), ArianeGroup (the prime contractor) and CNES (France’s space agency) focused primarily on the successes of the day, rather than the anomaly at the end of the mission. More

(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 11)