Ariane 64 rocket launches 32 Amazon Leo satellites with maiden flight

On February 12, 2026, at 1:45 p.m. local time from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, Arianespace achieved a major milestone with the maiden flight of the Ariane 64 rocket and deployed Amazon Leo satellites.

The rocket, equipped with four boosters and using its long 20-meter fairing, lifted off carrying 32 Amazon Leo satellites and successfully placed them into a low Earth orbit at approximately 465 km altitude. The entire mission from lift-off to final satellite separation lasted 1 hour and 54 minutes.

This launch marked several historic firsts. It was the inaugural flight of the Ariane 64 variant, the heaviest payload ever delivered by a European launcher (around 20 metric tons), the first Ariane 6 mission for a commercial customer, and the first time a European launcher has been used for the Amazon Leo constellation.

Designated VA267 (LE-01), the flight also initiated a multi-year contract under which Amazon Leo has booked 18 Ariane 6 missions to support the deployment of its planned low Earth orbit broadband network.

According to Amazon, the new 32 satellites bring the total number of spacecraft in the constellation to more than 200. The satellites, after initial health checks from the mission operations center in Redmond, Washington, will be raised to their operational altitude of 630 km for full commissioning.

This heavy-lift success is the eighth launch in Amazon Leo’s deployment campaign, which began in April 2025. The company is now accelerating its pace, with more than 20 launches planned for 2026 alone.

The ultimate goal remains a constellation of more than 3,000 satellites delivered through over 100 missions worldwide, designed to provide fast, reliable broadband internet to communities and businesses beyond the reach of traditional terrestrial networks.