Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket debut planned for July 9

BERLIN (Reuters) -Europe’s new Ariane 6 satellite launcher will stage a long-awaited inaugural flight on July 9, the head of the European Space Agency said at the Berlin Airshow on Wednesday.

The delayed debut comes a year after its predecessor, Ariane 5, was retired, leaving Europe with no independent path to orbit for its satellites after setbacks involving a smaller Italian alternative and the severing of ties with Russia over Ukraine.

ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher also told reporters that the plan was for the first commercial launch of Ariane 6 to take place before the end of the year.

In November, the 22-nation agency set a preliminary launch window of mid-June to end-July this year, subject to tests.

ESA nations agreed in 2014 to develop Ariane 6 in response to growing competition in the commercial launch market but its arrival, originally due in 2020, has been repeatedly delayed.

The launcher has been developed by ArianeGroup, a joint venture between Airbus and Safran, in order to better compete with rivals like Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

(Reporting by Joanna PlucinskaWriting by Madeline ChambersEditing by Thomas Seythal)