BERLIN, June 5 (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 Plucinska

Writing by Madeline Chambers

Editing by Thomas Seythal)