Can Ariane 6 turn Europe’s spacetech startups into global powerhouses?

When Ariane 6 suffered a glitch on its first flight, the mishap felt strangely inevitable. Nearly half of all rockets fail on their first launches. After a troubled development and four years of delays, Ariane 6 looked like a prime candidate to join the list.  The launcher was commissioned to create a European pathway into the cosmos. Since the retirement of Ariane 5 last July, the continent has had no independent access to space. Thierry Breton, the EU’s commissioner for the in