Europe is preparing to launch the Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket on its third mission, designated VA264, from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou. Liftoff is scheduled for 02:37 CEST on 13 August (01:37 BST), with a live webcast beginning roughly 30 minutes earlier. The rocket will carry two European Earth-observation satellites: Metop-SG-A1, an 8,900-pound weather satellite developed by Airbus Defence and Space for the meteorological agency EUMETSAT, and Copernicus Sentinel-5, designed to monitor atmospheric composition. Ariane 6 is expected to deploy the payloads into a sun-synchronous orbit about 800 kilometres above Earth after a 64-minute flight involving three upper-stage engine burns, the last of which will de-orbit the stage to limit space debris. A successful launch would mark Ariane 6’s latest step toward routine operations after its inaugural test flight in July 2024 and a commercial mission carrying a French reconnaissance satellite in March 2025. ESA and launch operator Arianespace plan up to three more Ariane 6 missions next year and ultimately aim for an annual cadence of about a dozen flights, part of Europe’s effort to regain independent access to space amid intensifying competition from SpaceX and other providers.