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Amazon gears up for beta test of satellite internet service

Worker installing satellite antenna on building roof
A worker installs an Amazon Leo antenna at a Hunt Energy facility. (Amazon Photo)

Amazon Leo — the satellite internet service provider formerly known as Project Kuiper — says it has started shipping its top-of-the-line terminals to select customers for testing.

Today’s announcement serves as further evidence that Amazon is closing in on providing space-based, high-speed access to the internet to customers around the world after years of preparation. Amazon Leo is still far behind SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network, but the Seattle-based tech giant has lined up a wide array of partners to help get its network off the ground.

The top tier of Amazon Leo’s global broadband service, known as Leo Ultra, will offer download speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second and upload speeds of up to 400 megabits per second, Amazon said today in a blog post. That’s the first time Amazon has shared details about uplink performance.

During an enterprise preview, some of Amazon’s business customers will begin testing the network using production-grade hardware and software. Amazon said the preview will give its Leo teams “an opportunity to collect more customer feedback and tailor solutions for specific industries ahead of a broader rollout.”

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Amazon touts gigabit data speeds in satellite test

Screenshot of internet speed test with 1287.25 Mbps showing on dial
A screenshot shows a data downlink speed in excess of 1.2 gigabits per second. (Panos Panay via X)

Amazon executives are showing off evidence that the company’s Project Kuiper satellite constellation is capable of transmitting data at speeds in excess of a gigabit per second.

The evidence is in the form of a video posted to social-media accounts, displaying an internet speed test that hit a peak downlink transfer rate of over 1.2 Gbps.

Panos Panay, Amazon’s senior vice president for devices and services, said Project Kuiper team members used Amazon’s enterprise-grade customer terminal for the test, and connected as their satellites flew above at their assigned altitude of 630 kilometers (390 miles).

“So pumped to see this, and looking forward to bringing this level of performance to our customers,” Panay wrote on LinkedIn.

Rajeev Badyal, Amazon’s vice president of technology for Project Kuiper, weighed in on LinkedIn as well. “The team set a high bar from the start, and as far as we know, this is the first commercially phased array antenna to deliver 1+ Gbps from low Earth orbit,” he wrote.

“P.S.: Uplink numbers generated as much excitement (if not more),” Badyal added. “We’ll save those for another day though…”

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Satellite phone service raises its orbit into the data zone

Photoillustration: Hiker using mobile phone in countryside with magenta-tinged satellites in the sky above
T-Mobile says satellite access will get rid of “dead zones” for mobile phone apps. (T-Mobile Photoillustration)

T-Mobile subscribers who buy one of the phones in Google’s newly announced Pixel 10 lineup will be able to explore a new frontier in mass-market mobile connectivity: satellite access to data-dependent apps, including Google Maps.

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SpaceX sets rivalry aside and launches Amazon satellites

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches Amazon Project Kuiper satellites
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sends Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites into space. (SpaceX / Amazon via LinkedIn)

In a case of strange space bedfellows, SpaceX launched 24 satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper constellation — which is competing with SpaceX’s Starlink network to provide internet access from low Earth orbit.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sent the satellites into space from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 2:30 a.m. ET July 16 (11:30 p.m. PT July 15).

This was the third launch of operational satellites for Project Kuiper, coming after two batches of 27 satellites each were delivered to orbit in April and June. Those earlier missions made use of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rockets, but in order to meet its satellite deployment schedule, Amazon is turning to SpaceX for three Falcon 9 launches.

SpaceX enjoys a significant edge over Amazon when it comes to providing satellite broadband access: Starlink has about 8,000 satellites in orbit and more than 6 million subscribers, while Project Kuiper is just getting off the ground. Project Kuiper’s satellites are built at an Amazon facility in Kirkland, Wash., not far from the SpaceX complex in Redmond where Starlink satellites are manufactured.

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Amazon adds 27 satellites to its broadband constellation

Atlas V rocket liftoff with Amazon Project Kuiper satellites
An Atlas V rocket sends Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites into space. (United Launch Alliance via YouTube)

A second batch of satellites has been sent into low Earth orbit for Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband network, marking another significant step toward competing with SpaceX’s global Starlink network.

United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket launched 27 Project Kuiper satellites today at 6:54 a.m. ET (3:54 a.m. PT) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. They joined 27 other satellites that were launched on an Atlas V in April.

“Many more launches ahead, but we’re 2/2 in under two months and already looking ahead to our next missions,” Rajeev Badyal, vice president of technology and head of Project Kuiper at Amazon, said in a LinkedIn posting.

Eventually, Amazon aims to deploy 3,232 satellites to provide global high-speed internet access to millions of people who are currently underserved. Under the terms of Amazon’s license from the Federal Communications Commission, half of those satellites should be deployed by mid-2026 — although that deadline may be extended.

This batch of satellites was originally scheduled for deployment a week ago, but ULA said it had to scrub the first launch attempt “due to an engineering observation of an elevated purge temperature within the booster engine.” No major technical issues cropped up during today’s countdown.

The current schedule calls for Project Kuiper to begin delivering service to customers later this year.

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Get a sneak peek at Amazon’s satellites flying in orbit

Video frame showing Amazon Project Kuiper satellites being deployed in orbit
A video shows Project Kuiper satellites being deployed in orbit. (Amazon / ULA / Rajeev Badyal via LinkedIn)

Several days after the launch of the first full-scale satellites in Amazon’s Project Kuiper constellation, the mission team is still on an adrenaline high, according to the team’s leader.

“It’s early in the mission and we still have lots of work ahead,” Rajeev Badyal, Amazon’s vice president of technology and head of Project Kuiper, said today in a LinkedIn post. “It’s been an entirely nominal start though, and that’s all thanks to the talent, passion and dedication of the Kuiper team. They’ve delivered in a big way here – for Amazon and for our customers – and I’m so proud.”

Project Kuiper is Amazon’s effort to build a satellite-based broadband network that could eventually serve millions of people around the world. It’s seen as a competitor for SpaceX’s Starlink network, which already has more than 7,000 satellites in low Earth orbit and more than 5 million users.

Following up on a test mission in 2023, Amazon had its first batch of 27 operational Project Kuiper satellites launched into orbit from Florida on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on April 28. Those satellites are now being checked out by the mission operations team in Redmond, Wash. The launch kicked off a campaign that’s expected to take years to execute, leading to the deployment of 3,232 satellites.

Amazon’s satellites are built at a 172,000-square-foot facility in Kirkland, Wash., with additional work being done at Project Kuiper’s Redmond headquarters.

The company hasn’t shared many images of the satellites, apparently for proprietary reasons. Badyal, however, posted a video that provided a rare peek of the satellites being deployed in orbit from the Atlas V rocket’s Centaur upper stage. The video shows the satellites rising from the upper stage in sequence and floating off into space. A thin blue slice of Earth’s disk can be seen at the end of the clip.

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Amazon satellites go into orbit, boosting Starlink rivalry

Atlas V rocket launch with Project Kuiper satellites
United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket sends Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites into space. (ULA Photo)

A powerful rocket sent the first batch of 27 satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband internet network into low Earth orbit today, marking a milestone in the company’s multibillion-dollar bid to catch up with SpaceX’s Starlink constellation.

Today’s liftoff came nearly three weeks after the first attempt was scrubbed due to weather concerns. This time, the clouds and rain showers stayed far enough away for United Launch Alliance to launch its Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 7:01 p.m. ET (4:01 p.m. PT). ULA used its most powerful version of the Atlas, with five solid-rocket boosters attached to the first stage.

“Go Atlas … Go Centaur … Go KA-01,” launch managers declared in the final seconds before liftoff.

The rocket’s Centaur upper stage delivered Amazon’s satellites to an altitude of 280 miles (450 kilometers). In a posting to Threads, ULA said the satellites were deployed successfully. And in an online update, Amazon said its team “established contact with all 27 satellites, and initial deployment and activation sequences are proceeding nominally.”

The satellites will use their onboard electric propulsion systems to settle into their final intended orbits of 392 miles (630 kilometers) under the management of Project Kuiper’s mission operations team in Redmond, Wash.

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Amazon sets a date for milestone Kuiper satellite launch

Delivery of Amazon Project Kuiper payload to Florida launch facility
United Launch Alliance delivers the Kuiper-1 payload to its Vertical Integration Facility in Florida. (ULA Photo)

Update: The April 9 launch attempt was scrubbed due to weather concerns, but Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites were sent into orbit on April 28.

Amazon and United Launch Alliance have set April 9 as the date for the first launch of full-scale satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband internet network.

ULA said the three-hour window for the Atlas V rocket’s liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 in Florida is scheduled to open at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) that day. ULA is planning a live stream of launch coverage via its website starting about 20 minutes ahead of liftoff.

Amazon said next week’s mission — known as Kuiper-1 or KA-1 (for Kuiper Atlas 1) — will put 27 Kuiper satellites into orbit at an altitude of 280 miles (450 kilometers).

ULA launched two prototype Kuiper satellites into orbit for testing in October 2023, but KA-1 will mark Amazon’s first full-scale launch of a batch of operational satellites designed to bring high-speed internet access to millions of people around the world.

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Amazon ships satellites for Kuiper broadband network

Amazon Project Kuiper satellites being prepared for shipping
Project Kuiper satellites are packed inside containers for transport to Florida. (Amazon Photo)

Amazon is providing a sneak peek at the satellites that are being shipped to Florida for the launch of its Project Kuiper broadband network — well, maybe not the satellites, but at least their containers.

“Late last year, we began shipping flight-ready satellites, and even more have been on their way in recent weeks,” the Project Kuiper team said in a posting to LinkedIn.

The first batch of production-level satellites is due for launch sometime in the next few months on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, lifting off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. That’ll follow up on the successful testing of two prototype satellites that were launched on an Atlas V in October 2023.

Eventually, 3,232 satellites are slated to go into orbit to provide high-speed internet service. Under the terms of Amazon’s license from the Federal Communications Commission, half of those satellites are to be launched by mid-2026.

Project Kuiper would provide added competition for SpaceX’s Starlink network, which currently dominates the market for satellite broadband connectivity with 5 million subscribers. Amazon is planning to start rolling out Project Kuiper services by the end of this year.

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Amazon revs up for the internet satellite market

Atlas V launch of prototype Amazon Kuiper satellites in 2023
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket sends two prototype satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper to orbit in 2023. (ULA Photo)

Get ready for Amazon’s Project Kuiper to pick up the pace in the megaconstellation space race.

So far, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite megaconstellation has dominated the market for broadband connectivity from low Earth orbit. In the nearly 10 years since SpaceX founder Elon Musk unveiled the project in Seattle, the Starlink network has attracted more than 5 million subscribers and more than $2 billion in U.S. government contracts (including work on the Starshield national security network).

But the year ahead promises to bring heightened competition: Like Starlink, Project Kuiper aims to offer high-speed internet access from the skies for hundreds of millions of people around the world who are currently underserved.

Following up on last year’s successful test of two prototype satellites, Amazon plans to begin launching operational Kuiper satellites in early 2025, with service due to begin by the end of the year. Pricing details haven’t yet been announced, but Amazon says “affordability is a key principle of Project Kuiper.”

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