Amazon announced on June 27 that the first satellite internet services from Project Kuiper would not be launched until 2025, while the initial plan was to send them into orbit as early as the end of this year. The company plans to launch the first production satellites on an Atlas V rocket in the last quarter of 2024.
The satellites are still in the factory
Through Project Kuiper, Amazon wants to deploy a constellation of more than 3,200 satellites in low Earth orbit to offer high-speed internet services around the world. Amazon had originally planned to begin beta testing with potential customers, including Verizon in the United States, as early as the first half of 2024. Logistical and technical challenges forced a delay in the schedule.
Amazon recently opened a satellite manufacturing facility in Kirkland, Washington, where the first production units will be ready this summer to be shipped to Florida. United Launch Alliance (ULA) will be responsible for launching these satellites from the Kennedy Space Center.
Amazon has ordered a total of eight Atlas V rockets and 38 next-generation Vulcan Centaur rockets from ULA to deploy its constellation. Last October, ULA successfully launched two prototype Project Kuiper satellites, which have since completed end-to-end testing.
In addition to the Atlas V and Vulcan Centaur rockets, Project Kuiper will also use 18 Ariane 6 rockets from Arianespace, up to 27 New Glenn missions from Blue Origin, and three Falcon 9 vehicles from SpaceX, the latter scheduled for flights starting in mid-2025. However, Ariane 6 and New Glenn have yet to make their first flights, and Vulcan has flown only once.
The Kirkland plant is capable of producing up to five satellites per day at full capacity. Once manufactured, the satellites will be transported to a processing center in Florida for integration onto launchers. Those destined for launch by Ariane 6 rockets will be sent to the space center in French Guiana.
« Building advanced communications satellites on this scale is incredibly complex. ” said Steve Metayer, vice president of production operations for Project Kuiper. We want to ensure that every Kuiper satellite meets our standards for performance, reliability and safety. »
The factory works in concert with a research and development center in Redmond, facilitating collaboration between design and manufacturing teams. Amazon plans to significantly ramp up satellite production and launches next year to meet the Federal Communications Commission’s July 2026 deadline for deploying half of the constellation.
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