The heavy version of Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket achieved its inaugural launch on Thursday, carrying 32 spacecraft into low-Earth orbit for Amazon’s satellite broadband constellation.
The Ariane 6 rocket launched from the Guiana Space Center on South America's northeastern coast at 11:45 a.m. EST (16:45 UTC), ascending swiftly into the clear skies of the tropical launch site, powered by a hydrogen-fueled main engine and four strap-on solid rocket boosters.
This specific configuration of the Ariane 6, named Ariane 64, marked the first instance of the rocket utilizing its full set of four boosters. Collectively, the rocket delivered over 3.4 million pounds of thrust (15,400 kilonewtons) as it charted a course northeast over the Atlantic Ocean. Within less than two hours, the upper stage of the rocket successfully deployed all 32 of Amazon’s satellites into a precise orbit at an altitude of 289 miles (465 kilometers).
Both Amazon and Arianespace, the French launch service provider, announced the mission's success. Josef Aschbacher, director general of the European Space Agency, which sponsored the development of the Ariane 6, stated, “With the powerful roar of four boosters at liftoff comes more than double the payload mass to orbit, setting Europe back on stage for launching all satellites to all orbits. With today’s launch, our rocket fleet is now complete, but we will not rest. Upgrades are already in progress for future launches, starting with the launch of our planet-hunter Plato that is set to launch on an upgraded Ariane 6.”
David Cavaillolès, CEO of Arianespace, commented, “With the first flight of Ariane 64, Europe’s heavy-lift launcher has demonstrated its ability to deliver the most demanding large-scale constellation missions. We are proud to support Amazon Leo with a reliable, high-performance European launch solution as we begin a series of 18 missions enabling the deployment of their constellation.”