亚马逊Leo将用升级版助推器一次发射36颗卫星

Key takeaways - 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. - Upgraded P160C solid boosters developed by ArianeGroup increase rocket performance and enable four additional satellites per launch. - A successful LE-03 mission will mean Europe has launched more than 25% of Amazon’s growing constellation. The next Amazon Leo mission Leo Europe 3 (LE-03) is targeting Wednesday, June 17 at 7:53 a.m. ET / 11:53 a.m. UTC for launch from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The mission will mark 100 Amazon Leo satellites launched by Arianespace, with three missions completed in less than five months. LE-03 will use Ariane 6's upgraded P160C solid boosters, enabling 36 satellites to be deployed—four more than the previous two Ariane 6 missions, which each deployed 32 satellites—and making it the largest payload launched to date for both Amazon Leo and Arianespace. Upgraded boosters The P160C boosters are an upgraded version of Ariane 6's P120C solid rocket 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. This enables heavier and more capable missions—and for Amazon Leo, it also means deploying more satellites per launch as the constellation scales. "Increasing our payload capacity to 36 satellites per mission is the result of extensive engineering collaboration between our team and Arianespace. 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, and we're already looking ahead to further optimizations as we continue building out Amazon Leo," said Melissa Wuerl, director of Launch Systems, Amazon Leo. The development and production of these boosters take place in Europe, supporting the continent's space industrial base and reinforcing the role of European launch technology in the global space economy. Contributing to the European space industry With an initial contract for 18 launches on Ariane 6, Amazon Leo remains the largest single customer for Arianespace, and the agreement represents a long-term commitment to Europe's space sector and the communities it sup…