Arianespace has set the next Ariane 6 launch for no earlier than 23 November, ending a hiatus that followed a turbopump anomaly discovered during ground testing. The flight will place 36 Amazon Leo satellites into orbit using the Ariane 64 configuration, which employs four solid boosters. This will be the fifth Ariane 6 mission of 2026 and the tenth overall since the rocket's debut in July 2024.

The announcement came on 14 October, after French daily La Tribune reported on 13 October that ArianeGroup had resolved a problem with a liquid hydrogen turbopump that had earlier disrupted the launch timetable. The anomaly was first observed during an engine acceptance test in early summer, according to the report.

When approached by European Spaceflight for comment, an ArianeGroup spokesperson did not address the La Tribune report directly, but referenced the newly announced launch date as confirmation that the issue was being managed. "The next launch has been announced today, so the situation is on track," the spokesperson said.

A provisional schedule from the French space agency CNES had previously targeted 7 October for the mission, meaning the turbopump issue had pushed the launch back by nearly seven weeks. In September, both ArianeGroup and Arianespace had declined to confirm the turbopump issue publicly, but indicated that additional checks on the production line would adjust the remaining 2026 flight plan.

Originally, Arianespace expected to conduct seven or eight Ariane 6 launches in 2026. With the return to flight now set for late November, the company now anticipates only one further launch before year‑end, bringing the total to six. The final 2026 flight is slated to carry the MetOp‑SG‑B1 weather satellite for EUMETSAT.

ArianeGroup has said it plans to increase its launch cadence in 2027, targeting nine to ten Ariane 6 launches that year.