Amazon Leo to Launch Record Ariane 6 Payload of 36 Satellites

Amazon's LE-03 mission is targeting Wednesday, June 17 at 7:53 a.m. ET for launch from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The flight will deploy 36 Amazon Leo satellites using upgraded P160C solid boosters on Ariane 6, marking the heaviest payload ever launched by an Ariane rocket and bringing the total launched by Arianespace to 100 satellites.

LE-03 sets new Ariane payload record. The upcoming LE-03 mission will see the heaviest payload ever launched by an Ariane rocket. It will deploy another 36 Amazon Leo satellites, adding to the 330+ satellites already in orbit.

A successful LE-03 mission will mean Europe has launched more than 25% of Amazon’s growing constellation. This follows three Arianespace missions completed in less than five months.

Upgraded P160C boosters enable higher capacity. LE-03 will use Ariane 6's upgraded P160C solid boosters developed by ArianeGroup. They carry additional solid propellant and extend operating time, increasing Ariane 6's low Earth orbit payload performance by more than two metric tons.

The change enables four additional satellites per launch compared to the previous two Ariane 6 missions, which each deployed 32 satellites.

Engineering collaboration accelerates scaling. Melissa Wuerl, director of Launch Systems, Amazon Leo, detailed the work with Arianespace. "Increasing our payload capacity to 36 satellites per mission is the result of extensive engineering collaboration between our team and Arianespace," she said.

"Every additional satellite we can safely deploy on a single launch accelerates the pace at which we scale our constellation and bring reliable connectivity to customers around the world. The upgraded P160C boosters give us the performance margin to do that confidently."

Launch activity supports European space industry. The development and production of these boosters take place in Europe, supporting the continent's space industrial base. Amazon Leo remains the largest single customer for Arianespace with an initial contract for 18 launches on Ariane 6.

Oxford Economics estimates that Amazon Leo's spending in the EU will contribute €2.8 billion to GDP. It will support an average of 3,270 jobs annually over the same period, and the economic activity generated by launch partnerships is expected to contribute over €790 million to government treasuries in the EU.

Multi-provider strategy builds on recent momentum. LE-03 builds on the momentum of Amazon Leo's first year of production launches. Since the first full-scale Amazon Leo deployment mission in April 2025, more than 330 satellites have been deployed across 12 missions and two continents.

Amazon Leo uses a multi-provider launch strategy to deploy its constellation, with more than 100 launches secured across five different rockets—Atlas V, Ariane 6, Falcon 9, Vulcan Centaur, and New Gl.