The European Space Agency will begin testing the P160 solid-fuel booster in March 2025. The booster will replace the current P120 booster and will be a key element in enabling Arianespace to deliver on an 18-launch contract for Amazon.
Amazon awarded the largest launch deal ever in April 2022, securing 83 launches on rockets from Arianespace, Blue Origin, and United Launch Alliance for its Project Kuiper satellites. Arianespace was contracted to conduct 18 launches of its Ariane 6 rocket. Only two, however, will be conducted with the current version of the rocket’s Ariane 64 variant, which features four solid-fuel P120 boosters. The first Ariane 64 is expected to be launched later this year. The other 16 missions for Amazon will utilize Ariane 64 Block 2 rockets with four of the upgraded P160 boosters, which feature approximately 160 tonnes of solid rocket fuel each.
ESA announced that it would be pursuing the development of the P160 booster in March 2022. At the time, the project was referred to as the P120+ booster. In March 2024, Italian rocket builders Avio, who is part of the industrial team, revealed that they had completed the booster’s critical design review, allowing preparations for a hot-fire test to commence in earnest.
During ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher’s annual press conference on 9 January, a question regarding the status of the P160 booster was raised. Director of Space Transportation Toni Tolker-Nielsen explained that the agency expects the first hot-fire test of a P160 booster to be conducted in March on a test stand at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana.
In addition to Ariane 6, the P160 boosters will also be utilized by Avio aboard the upgraded Vega C+ and the company’s next-generation Vega E rocket.
