An Atlas V launch vehicle successfully launched 29 more Amazon Leo satellites into space on Thursday, releasing them at an altitude of around 465 kilometers above Earth. According to Amazon, the Amazon Leo satellite network (formerly Project Kuiper) now has 396 satellites in low Earth orbit. At the same time, this 14th mission marks the conclusion of the “Leo Atlas” launch campaign. “Our next Leo mission with United Launch Alliance (ULA) will be conducted with the new Vulcan heavy-lift rocket; this can carry even larger Leo payloads and will help us increase the deployment rate,” Amazon said in a statement.
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With nearly 400 satellites in space, Aamzon Leo is the third largest constellation in orbit. As the US tech portal The Verge reports, after Thursday’s successful mission, Amazon now has enough satellites in low-Earth orbit to begin operating its satellite Internet constellation in competition with market leader Starlink. According to Chris Weber, vice president of business and product development at Amazon Leo, the current number of satellites is sufficient to ensure continuous service. This means that Amazon is on track to achieve the targeted commercial availability this year.
Starlink with a big lead
Billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX currently operates over 10,000 Starlink satellites and provides fast broadband internet to more than five million customers worldwide. Amazon Leo is still a long way from such numbers. Amazon originally wanted to launch its first internet satellites into space at the end of 2022. But there were always delays. In the second half of 2023, Amazon launched two test satellites into space to test the functionality of the system. Finally, at the end of April 2025, Amazon successfully launched the first 27 Kuiper internet satellites into low Earth orbit.
As part of its license, which was granted by the US telecommunications regulator FCC (Federal Communications Commission) in 2020, Amazon would have had to put half of its planned 3,236 Internet satellites into operation by July 2026. At the beginning of June, the FCC suspended the corresponding requirement. The reason given was that the exemption was “in the public interest”. Accordingly, Amazon now has until July 2028 for the first half of its satellites. However, the regulatory authority is sticking to the deadline for setting up the complete constellation by July 2029.
Increasing the starting frequency
Back in March, Amazon announced that it would significantly increase the frequency of satellite launches. To this end, the group has booked launch capacities with space companies such as Blue Origin, ArianeGroup, ULA and even its major competitor SpaceX.
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In Thursday’s announcement, Amazon confirmed its plans. Currently, more than 100 launches have already been contractually secured. “With hundreds of satellites ready to fly at the launch site (Cape Canaveral) and a new Leo-dedicated vertical integration facility ready for the Leo Vulcan 1 mission and subsequent flights, we have a clear plan to increase launch and expansion frequency,” said Melissa Wuerl, Director of Launch Systems at Amazon Leo. “This will help us to rapidly expand network coverage following the launch of the first services planned for later this year.”
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