Europe launched the most powerful “Ariane 6” rocket with “Amazon” satellites in opposition to Muskʼs “Starlink”

Europe has successfully launched the “Ariane 6” heavy rocket, which put the “Project Kuiper” internet satellites into orbit. The launch took place from a spaceport in French Guiana.

This is reported by Bloomberg.

The rocket was launched by the European Space Agency. It is the first of 18 planned “Ariane 6” launches. On board were 32 “Amazon” satellites, which will become part of a global satellite internet network.

The project is expected to increase competition with Elon Muskʼs Starlink network. “Project Kuiper” is owned by “Amazon” founder Jeff Bezos.

The heavy version of the “Ariane 6” rocket with four boosters can launch more than 20 tons of cargo into low Earth orbit — about twice as much as the lighter version of the rocket.

The launch is being hailed by the space industry as a major step forward for Europe, as it allows the agency to once again compete in the commercial launch and satellite internet markets after years of delays and technical difficulties.

With 17 more missions to go, the program aims to deploy a constellation of approximately 3 200 satellites to provide global internet coverage and compete with the current market leaders.

• In late January, the EU launched its own secure satellite communications network as an alternative to Starlink, Bloomberg reported. The €10.6 billion project is intended to reduce the EU’s dependence on the US. Once fully deployed, the IRIS2 network will have 290 satellites in various orbits.

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