Amazon Leo Expands Ariane 6 Launch Pact With Arianespace to 24 Missions

Amazon Leo has ordered six additional Ariane 64 launches from Arianespace, expanding its launch commitment with the European provider from 18 missions to 24. The companies announced the deal Thursday at the International Space Summit in Paris, saying the added launches will begin in 2029 and run through 2031.

The order extends a partnership that Amazon said began with an April 2022 agreement for 18 Arianespace launches, which it described at the time as the largest commercial contract in Arianespace history. For Amazon, the new booking adds launch capacity for its low-Earth-orbit broadband constellation. For Arianespace, it provides a longer-term commercial demand boost for Ariane 6, Europe’s new heavy-lift rocket family.

The expansion follows a busy stretch of Amazon Leo missions on Ariane 6. Arianespace has launched 100 Amazon Leo satellites across three Ariane 6 flights in less than five months this year: 32 satellites on Feb. 12, 32 more on April 30 and 36 on June 17. That recent run of launches helps explain why Amazon is now deepening its commitment to Ariane 6.

Amazon Leo is the current public name for the satellite internet project previously known as Project Kuiper, Amazon’s effort to build a low-Earth-orbit network that can deliver broadband service from space. The Ariane 64 vehicle ordered in the new deal is the four-booster version of Ariane 6, designed to carry heavier payloads.

Arianespace said Amazon Leo is now its largest single customer. The latest order also extends the relationship through 2031, giving Ariane 6 a visible commercial backlog as the rocket ramps up regular service. One of this year’s Amazon missions in June used an Ariane 64 with new P160C boosters, a configuration Arianespace said improved low-Earth-orbit performance and helped carry 36 satellites.

Launch access has taken on added importance for Amazon’s deployment schedule. In June, the Federal Communications Commission’s Space Bureau granted Amazon Leo a limited waiver of an interim deployment deadline for its U.S.-licensed constellation.

Chris Weber, vice president of Amazon Leo business and product, said in a statement: “Europe isn't just a region we are going to serve. Europe's launch infrastructure is part of the operational architecture of the Amazon Leo constellation. … Expanding from 18 to 24 launches reflects our confidence in Ariane 6 and our continued investment in European launch capability.”

Financial terms were not disclosed.