Arianespace successfully launches 36 additional Amazon Leo satellites with an Ariane 64 equipped with advanced boosters

On June 17, 2026 at 09:21 local time, Arianespace successfully launched 36 Amazon Leo satellites aboard Ariane 6 in its Ariane 64 configuration, from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. The satellites were delivered with precision into low earth orbit (LEO), at an altitude of approximately 465 km. As planned, the mission lasted a total of 1 hour and 51 minutes from lift-off to the separation of the last satellites. 

The mission marks the third Ariane 6 launch dedicated to the deployment of the Amazon Leo constellation and is the eighth Ariane 6 launch and the third of the year.

Beyond deploying new Amazon Leo satellites, the VA269 mission marks a new milestone in Ariane 6's ramp-up. Less than two years after its inaugural flight, Europe's launcher underwent its first major upgrade with the introduction of the P160C boosters. This improvement increases the launcher's performance while maintaining its overall architecture, showcasing Ariane 6's ability to evolve rapidly to meet the growing demands of both institutional and commercial markets.

With 36 satellites on board— 4 more than on the two previous Amazon Leo missions—Ariane 6 concretely demonstrated this performance gain by carrying the heaviest payload ever launched by an Ariane launcher.

David Cavaillolès, CEO of Arianespace, said: “With 100 satellites now placed in orbit by Arianespace for Amazon Leo and the launch of 4 more satellites than the first two missions, we are setting records with an increasingly powerful and versatile launcher. This further demonstrates our ability to address new markets, and especially constellation deployment. We are proud to serve the ambition of Amazon Leo, whom we once again thank for their trust."

Christophe Bruneau, CEO of ArianeGroup said: “Today, we witnessed a particularly pivotal launch for Ariane 6 with the first successful flight of the P160C boosters. This success demonstrates ArianeGroup's ability to make evolve the launcher in less than 2 years after its inaugural launch, maximizing its performance. All the teams from ArianeGroup and its partners can be proud of this result, it is an outstanding achievement. With this additional performance, Ariane 6 is more than ever the European heavy launcher.”

The P160C realized their mission with success for their first flight. They are one of the world's largest carbon-fiber one-piece solid-propellant rocket motors and are designed to replace the P120C, the version of the booster that has flown on the first flights of Ariane 6. The significant evolution happens inside the boosters, whose length and width remain unchanged. Indeed, inside the booster, the new P160C engine is one meter longer than the P120C engine and can carry up to 156 tonnes of propellant, increasing the launcher's performance of 10% in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), compared to the P120C. This upgrade raises Ariane 64's payload capacity to approximately 22 tonnes in LEO.

On this VA269 LE-03 mission, the P160C enabled Ariane 64 to carry 36 Amazon Leo satellites, so 4 more than on the first two Amazon Leo missions.

It was the biggest Amazon Leo stack configuration to fly to date.

Amazon Leo is Amazon's low Earth orbit satellite network, whose mission is to deliver fast, reliable internet to customers beyond the reach of existing networks.

VA269 is part of a series of 18 launches entrusted to Arianespace for the deployment of Amazon's constellation, underscoring the long-term partnership between the two companies.