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ESA \/ M. Pedoussaut<\/p>\n ESA \/ M. Pedoussaut<\/p>\n
The first flight of Ariane 64, the more powerful four-booster variant of the Ariane 6 rocket, has been successfully launched from French Guiana. The rocket carried 32 satellites for the Amazon LEO constellation, formerly known as Project Kuiper.<\/p>\n
Arianespace launched the first Ariane 6 rocket in its two-booster configuration (Ariane 62) in July 2024. Another four flights followed in 2025, all launched aboard Ariane 62 rockets. On 12 February, Arianespace launched the first four-booster variant of the rocket from the Guiana Space Centre. This version of the rocket is capable of delivering payloads of over 21 tonnes to low Earth orbit, more than twice as much as the rocket\u2019s two-booster variant.<\/p>\n
The flight, designated LE-01 (Leo Europe 01) by Amazon, was launched from the ELA-4 launch complex at 16:45 UTC. Following a pair of second-stage burns, satellite separation began one hour and 29 minutes into the flight and concluded 35 minutes later after 12 deployments, with the final satellite drifting away from its payload adaptor. A third and final burn 160 minutes after liftoff will place the upper stage into a destructive orbit, with the mission concluding when it burns up in Earth\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n
LE-01 was the first of 18 missions Amazon has contracted Arianespace to conduct as it deploys its Amazon LEO constellation, positioned as a global broadband competitor to Starlink. Arianespace has indicated that it plans to launch up to 8 Ariane 6 flights in 2026, a significant portion of which will be dedicated to working through its backlog for Amazon. This will include the first flight of the upgraded Block II Ariane 64 variant, featuring the more powerful P160C boosters, which were officially certified for flight<\/a> by the European Space Agency in December 2025.<\/p>\n