Ariane 6's tenth flight will carry 36 Amazon Leo satellites, no earlier than Nov. 23
Arianespace's VA271 / LE-04 mission will use the four-booster Ariane 64 and bring Arianespace's Amazon Leo total to 136 satellites, as Amazon nears commercial service.
Arianespace has set a target of no earlier than November 23, 2026, for the tenth flight of Ariane 6, which will carry 36 satellites for Amazon's Leo broadband constellation. A final launch window will be set closer to the mission.
The mission
- Designations: VA271 for Arianespace, LE-04 (Leo Europe 04) for Amazon.
- Vehicle: Ariane 64, the most powerful configuration with four P160C solid rocket boosters. This will be only the second flight with the advanced P160C boosters.
- Launch site: Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, where the launch campaign is already underway.
- Duration: roughly two hours and four minutes from liftoff to the deployment of the last satellites in low Earth orbit.
Arianespace says it will be its fourth Ariane 6 launch for Amazon Leo in 2026. If successful, it brings the number of Amazon Leo satellites deployed by Arianespace to 136. Arianespace lists it as its 363rd launch overall and its fifth of 2026.
A deeper Amazon partnership
The flight is part of a 24-launch agreement with Amazon. Arianespace says that in September 2026, Amazon ordered six additional Ariane 64 launches, bringing the total commitment to 24 missions. For Europe's new heavy launcher, a large commercial constellation customer is an important source of cadence.
Since its inaugural flight in July 2024, Ariane 6 has flown institutional and commercial missions including CSO-3, Metop-SGA1, Sentinel-1D, MTG-I2 and Galileo satellites, along with Amazon Leo deployments.
Amazon is close to service
The launch comes as Amazon prepares to sell its satellite internet. In an interview with Ars Technica, Amazon Leo executives said the company recently built its 1,000th satellite at its Kirkland, Washington factory, describing Amazon as the world's second-largest satellite manufacturer behind SpaceX. Ars reports that Amazon is weeks away from offering commercial service for the first time, and that the upcoming Vulcan return-to-flight mission will also carry Amazon Leo satellites.
Amazon's effort is led by Rajeev Badyal, who previously led Starlink in its early years. The company has already signed customers, including Delta Air Lines.
Why it matters
Amazon is buying launches from almost every heavy-lift provider it can, and Ariane 6 is a major piece of that plan. For Arianespace, Amazon is cadence; for Amazon, Ariane 6 is capacity. For investors watching the Starlink-vs-Leo competition, the number that matters most is satellites in orbit, and launches like VA271 add to it in batches of 36.
