🇪🇺🇫🇷🚀📹 — On July 9, 2024 AD, Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket was launched for the first time ever, lifting off from the Kourou launch site in French Guiana at 3:01 p.m. Eastern (1901 UTC), in a major event and a big boost for the Pan-European space plans

➡️ The Launch followed a short delay due to a data acquisition system issue.

➡️ As noted by Space Today, the rocket’s pair of solid boosters separated just over two minutes into the flight at an altitude of 62 kilometers. The main stage’s new liquid hydrogen and oxygen-fuelled Vulcain 2.1 engine cutoff as planned just under eight minutes after liftoff.

➡️ The first separation command, seeing the deployment of the OOV-Cube, Curium One and Robusta-3A, took place one hour five minutes into flight with the Ariane 6 upper stage in a circular, 577-kilometer-altitude orbit. Experiments YPSat and Peregrinus, attached to the upper stage, were also initiated.

➡️ Three further separations were due to follow at time of first reporting. The European Space Agency official stream later reported an issue with the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) which allows the upper stage Vinci engine to reignite*.

➡️ The European Space Agency posted on X to celebrate its launch, which is part of an effort to put Europe on the map for launching satellites and distinguish it from competitors such as Elon Musk.

➡️ The launch was also celebrated by French president Emmanuel Macron, that on his account on X/Twitter, said:

This is our Space History.
This is our strategic autonomy.
It is a source of French and European pride.

The first launch of Ariane 6 is a success!

Huge congratulations to the teams who make what seems impossible possible. Mission accomplished.

🔗 Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron)

➡️ On social media, the French Armed Forces also published some photos of the Warplanes of the French Air Force following the trajectory of the rocket

🔗 European Space Agency (@esa)

🇺🇸 🇷🇺 🌐 Hyperborean Geostrategic Initiatives

🔶️ TGP: A few months back, the U.S. released the National Strategy for the Arctic Region (NSAR), a ten-year agenda updating its 2013 predecessor. Alongside this, the Administration brought out the Implementation Plan for the NSAR (NSARIP), outlining over 30 objectives and 200 actions. President Biden reiterated the U.S. commitment to deepen cooperation with Arctic allies and partners, particularly in managing risks related to militarization and unintended conflicts against the backdrop of geopolitical tensions with Russia and China. The United States continues to prioritize collaboration in the Arctic, building on its role in developing governance architecture.

🔶️ In short, the Arctic is set to witness new geopolitical shifts, worsened by the prolonged war in Ukraine. The U.S. sanctions targeting Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project indicate a closely packed contest of economic and security interests in the region. The deepening collaboration between Russia and China in the Arctic may further disrupt the situation. With Finland and Sweden joining NATO, the U.S. bolsters its Arctic strategy and the High North has become a major terrain for strategic maneuverings.

🔶️ NATO's Arctic Command: A Case for the Expansion of NATO’s Mission in the High North - The alliance has directed increasing attention to the North Pole with joint military exercises such as Trident Juncture in 2018 and a Norwegian-sponsored operation in 2022, Cold Response. The addition of Sweden and Finland will only bolster the resources NATO has to dedicate to the Arctic issue. Danoy and Maddox, authors of a recent article compiled for NATOs 20/2020 review, discuss further expansion of the NATO footprint in the Arctic.

🔶️ US Claims Huge Chunk of Arctic Seabed Amid Strategic Push for Resources - The so-called Extended Continental Shelf covers about 1 million square kilometers (386,100 square miles), predominantly in the Arctic and Bering Sea, an area of increasing strategic importance where Canada and Russia also have claims. The US has also declared the shelf’s boundaries in the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf of Mexico.

🔶️ Houthis’ Red Sea blockade makes Northern Sea Route attractive to Global Shipping - The 5,600 km Northern Sea Route is the shortest maritime route between Europe and Asia, and can shave 8,000 km or more of distance, and 40-60 percent in time, off shipments, compared to traditional Europe-Asia routes through the presently troubled waters in the Middle East.

🔶️ Over 90 percent of all Europe-Asia traffic flows through cables in the Red Sea. - The Far North Fiber project is seeking to offer another option — a 14,500 kilometer cable linking Europe, North America and Asia.