The final flight of the Ariane 5 rocket, which was due to lift off from the resort of Kourou in French Guiana on Friday evening, has been delayed until an unspecified date due to an anomaly, Arianespace said on Thursday, citing AFP.

“It has become apparent that there is a risk of redundancy of a critical function on Ariane 5. In accordance with safety requirements, Arianespace has decided to delay the deployment of the launcher,” the company explained on Twitter.

“Analysis is ongoing to determine a new launch date,” added Arianespace, which is in charge of operating European launchers.

This 117th and final flight of the European rocket, which is saying goodbye after 27 years of service, is planned to put into orbit a French military communications satellite (Syracuse 4B) and a German experimental satellite.

“The Heinrich-Hertz-Satellit and Syracuse 4B launch vehicle and satellites are in the stage of final assembly in a stabilized configuration and in all necessary safety conditions,” Arianespace said.

This latest flight was a watershed moment for the European space industry, which has effectively been deprived of autonomous access to space pending Ariane 6 as the competition continues.

The reason: the sudden cessation of Russian Soyuz missile operations after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which led to the curtailment of activities at the Kuru base.

The failure of Vega C’s first commercial launch in December 2022 and the accumulated delays for the future Ariane 6 made matters worse: after the last flight of Ariane 5, the launch of Vega will not take place until September and the likely return to Vega-C flights at the end of the year.

• Read also: Ariane 6 and the separation from Russia: increasing pressure on ESA for a quick first flight / 3 years of delays