Ariane 6 entered its P160C era on 17 June with a successful Ariane 64 flight that placed 36 Amazon Leo satellites into low Earth orbit from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
The mission used four upgraded solid boosters, lifting the vehicle’s performance envelope and giving Arianespace the heaviest payload ever launched by an Ariane rocket. It was the third Ariane 6 launch of 2026 and the third Amazon Leo mission on the launcher, with the constellation now deep into an 18-launch sequence. The extra booster thrust added four satellites versus the previous Amazon Leo flights.
For Ariane 6 operators, the message is straightforward: the upgrade is already translating into higher lift capability for dense commercial stacks.