Amazon says its low Earth orbit internet business, Leo, has reached an important milestone, with enough satellites now in orbit to begin initial commercial service later this year.
Reaching A Critical Threshold
The company launched 29 additional satellites shortly after 12:30 a.m. ET on Thursday aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, bringing its constellation to more than 390 satellites.
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According to Chris Weber, Amazon Leo’s vice president of business and product, that is enough to provide continuous service across the first coverage areas. Amazon began offering an enterprise preview to selected businesses in November but has yet to launch the service for consumers or government customers.
The milestone moves Amazon closer to becoming a meaningful competitor to SpaceX’s Starlink in the rapidly growing satellite broadband market.
Building Coverage, One Launch At A Time
The initial rollout will cover only selected regions, with future launches expanding both capacity and geographic reach as the constellation grows.
Unlike traditional broadband networks, satellite internet depends on several elements progressing together, including satellite production, launch availability, orbital deployment and ground infrastructure.
Catching Up With Starlink
Amazon still has considerable ground to make up. While the company announced the project in 2019, SpaceX began building Starlink in 2015 and has since deployed around 10,000 satellites, serving more than 10 million customers worldwide.
Amazon ultimately plans to deploy roughly 7,700 satellites, but progress has been slowed by limited launch capacity. Earlier this year, the company asked regulators to extend deployment deadlines, citing industry-wide shortages of available rockets.
Although Amazon secured launch agreements with ULA, Arianespace, Blue Origin and later SpaceX, several providers have experienced delays. One setback came in May, when Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded during a hot-fire test just days before it was scheduled to launch Amazon satellites.
Next Phase Of Deployment
Amazon’s next Leo mission will use ULA’s Vulcan rocket, which can carry larger payloads and help accelerate deployment. Melissa Wuerl, Leo’s director of launch systems, said the company already has hundreds of flight-ready satellites at Cape Canaveral, along with dedicated production facilities to support a faster launch cadence.
“We have a clear path to increase launch and deployment cadence,” Wuerl said, adding that Amazon intends to expand network coverage rapidly once commercial service begins later this year.
For Amazon, reaching the 390-satellite mark represents more than another successful launch. It marks the transition from building the network to bringing it into commercial operation as the company attempts to challenge Starlink’s early lead in the satellite internet market.
