Ministers in charge of space activities within the 20 ESA Member States and Canada will meet in Luxembourg on 2 December to take key decisions, in particular on Europe's Launcher Programmes and the new Ariane 6 design should then be unveiled, a next generation launcher being required for an increasingly competitive market.

This video covers why it is important for Europe to have independent access to space and maintain its leadership in the world’s commercial satellite launch market.

If final approval on its development is given at the forthcoming Ministerial, Ariane 6 will launch from Kourou at the start of the next decade.