The EU launched the Ariane 6 rocket with Amazon satellites — competitors to Musk’s Starlink.

The Ariane 6 rocket successfully delivered satellites for Amazon into orbit.

The European Space Agency (ESA) launched the Ariane 6 rocket, which delivered 32 satellites into orbit for Amazon’s project aimed at expanding internet connectivity.

The launch took place from ESA’s spaceport in French Guiana. Ariane 6, equipped with four boosters, is the most powerful version of the launch vehicle from ArianeGroup, a joint venture of Airbus SE and Safran SA. This flight was the first of 18 planned missions aimed at deploying Amazon’s satellite constellation into low Earth orbit. The project envisions a system of over 3,200 satellites to compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink network. The success of this launch is significant as a technical failure during the debut flight in 2024 raised some doubts about the rocket’s reliability. However, subsequent missions in 2025 proved successful.

The Ariane 64 rocket can launch more than 20 tons of payload into low Earth orbit, which is twice the capacity of the previous version, Ariane 62. This development is important not only for Amazon but also for European aerospace ambitions. The European Union plans to launch its own satellite system IRIS² in 2029, aimed at enhancing security and autonomy of satellite communications in the region. IRIS² will provide EU governments with an encrypted backbone network and high-speed Wi-Fi for citizens.