Amazon says it’s been harder than expected to secure rides for its Amazon Leo broadband internet satellites, and now it’s asking the Federal Communications Commission for more time.
The request for an extension, filed today, asks the FCC to give Amazon until July 30, 2028, to deploy half of its 3,232 satellites in low Earth orbit. The current deadline is July 30, 2026.
Amazon said it’s spent more than $10 billion on its Leo constellation and has reserved more than 100 launches to get the satellites in their proper orbits. But it acknowledged that it’ll miss the original deadline, which was set in 2020 when the FCC gave the initial go-ahead for what was then known as Project Kuiper.
“Despite a historic reserve of launch capacity and deep investments in launch infrastructure, Amazon Leo has faced a shortage in the near-term availability of launches,” the company said. “This shortage has been driven by manufacturing disruptions, the failure and grounding of new launch vehicles, and limitations in spaceport capacity.”
Citing the launch availability gap, Amazon said it has had to reduce the production rate at its satellite manufacturing facility in Kirkland, Wash. “Amazon Leo is capable of consistently manufacturing 30 satellites per week — or over 1,500 satellites per year,” the company said. “To date, Amazon Leo has produced hundreds of flight-qualified satellites, and could readily have produced a multiple of this amount but for adjustments to its production schedule made in response to the delays in its launch manifest.”
