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I'm a EU citizen but I'm not surprised by this at all.

The "country equality" policy implemented for contract attribution on the Ariane 5 project by the EU is the culprit.

Once again prioritising feelings over efficiency or common sense.

Is it also the "culprit" for the 82 consecutive problem-free launches?

Sorry, I got confused with Ariane 6.

Ah, so the obvious "culprit" of this launch failure is... something you don't like that hasn't happened yet? Who's prioritizing feelings over common sense, again?

Yeah a rocket that is way, way over budget and late but hey looking at the facts is difficult.

You don't get to claim an Ariane 5 failed because of an Ariane 6 contracting/funding provision and lecture someone on "looking at the facts".

Side note: there haven't been many rockets that weren't late and over budget. It's hardly unique to the Ariane 6.

Dude Arianne 5 has one of the best success rates of any launch vehicle ever made, I think only soyuz is better. It's ridiculously expensive by today's standards, but that's thanks to Musk's moonshot project succeeding. I'm glad both exists, they're good at different jobs.

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