Amazon lends boost to Europe's Ariane at Paris space gathering

By Tim Hepher, Joey Roulette and Gianluca Lo Nostro

PARIS, Sept 9 (Reuters) - The Amazon Leo satellite network has ordered six additional launches on Europe's Ariane 6 launcher, operator Arianespace said on Wednesday, in a boost to Europe's flagship rocket programme.

French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the deal at the opening of a two-day space summit shunned by top U.S. space firms including Blue Origin, the launch provider owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, following what sources last week described as White House pressure over the summit's Europe-led agenda.

France is trying to secure wider European support for key strategic initiatives at the Paris gathering, and notably more wide-ranging German backing for Ariane 6 as well as the European Union's planned IRIS² satellite constellation.

The landmark win for Ariane could help increase production of the rocket after a series of development delays. That in turn may help dispel German doubts about its schedule, experts said.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, facing growing domestic political pressure and a busy schedule, pulled out ahead of the summit but delegates said the absence of France's closest ally highlighted lingering differences over space policy.

"It's really unfortunate that Merz isn't here," said veteran analyst Peter de Selding, co-founder of SpaceIntelReport.com.

France wants commitments that European government satellites should use European rockets. France deems this a question of sovereignty but Germany, which is investing $35 billion in military space and is reluctant to give up access to U.S. SpaceX, weighs this against security considerations.

"They look at what Russia is doing in Ukraine, and things like Leipzig and say this is serious, imminent stuff," de Selding said, referring to the recent discovery of an armed drone blamed by Berlin on Moscow, which has denied involvement.

Franco-German differences, coupled with lower than expected attendance, dampened day one of the summit which was devoted to coordinated business announcements. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is due to appear on Thursday.

LOW-EARTH ORBIT SATELLITES

The Amazon deal brings the number of Ariane launches commissioned by the company to 24 by 2031. The new flights will begin on the high-capacity Ariane 64 version in 2029.

Amazon aims to provide global broadband with thousands of low-Earth orbit satellites, challenging SpaceX's Starlink. It has mostly relied on the Atlas V from United Launch Alliance run by Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

Among other deals, Abu Dhabi-backed Marlan Space said it would invest $1 billion to build 50 observation satellites for Loft Orbital, equipped with AI from France's Mistral AI.

Eutelsat, the main European rival to Elon Musk's Starlink, announced several deals with French and German startups focused on infrared technology and ground infrastructure.

The Exploration Company, a European startup working on a reusable cargo capsule, said earlier it had raised $450 million.

The summit in the glass-domed Grand Palais is seen as a key event for Macron, striving to secure his legacy as he nears the end of his presidency and anxious to lock in European cooperation amid the rise of populist parties on left and right.

The French leader's second and final term ends next year and he is seen at home as a lame-duck president after losing his parliamentary majority two years ago.

"He wants to anchor commitments and political positions that successors will not easily be able to go back on," said Paul Taylor, senior visiting fellow at the European Policy Centre.

(Additional reporting by Richard Lough, Florence Loeve, Writing by Tim Hepher; Editing by Mark Potter AND cYNTHIA oSTERMAN)