Amazon’s Project Kuiper Plans Beta Release of Broadband Services by Early 2025

Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband services have been postponed until 2025, as announced on June 27. Initially, Amazon planned to deploy over 3,200 satellites in the first half of 2024 to begin beta trials with potential customers, including Verizon in the U.S. However, the company now aims to ship the first batch of production satellites to Florida this summer for a launch with United Launch Alliance (ULA) from its newly opened factory in Kirkland, Washington.

Amazon has procured eight Atlas V rockets and 38 next-generation Vulcan Centaur rockets from ULA to deploy the satellite constellation in low Earth orbit. In October, ULA successfully launched two Project Kuiper prototype satellites using an Atlas V, which have since completed end-to-end tests. Additionally, Project Kuiper’s extensive launch roster includes 18 Ariane 6 rockets from Arianespace, up to 27 New Glenn missions from Blue Origin (owned by Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos), and three SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicles scheduled to fly from mid-2025.

While Ariane 6 and New Glenn are awaiting their maiden flights, Vulcan has only flown once. ULA is set to conduct a second Vulcan Centaur launch in September with an inert payload and instrumentation. By year’s end, Vulcan will be used for two national security missions; its following launch, scheduled for late 2025’s first quarter, will have an unidentified payload. Amazon has not detailed the launch plan but confirmed each mission will carry dozens of satellites.

In April, Amazon officially opened its 52,000 square-meter manufacturing hub in Kirkland. Satellite parts will arrive there after a stop at a nearby logistics center in Everett. The factory can produce up to five satellites per day at peak capacity. Additionally, Amazon’s research and development facility in Redmond facilitates close collaboration between design and production teams.

Most satellites will be sent to a processing facility Amazon is establishing at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, for dispenser and rocket integration. Satellites destined for Ariane 6 launches will be sent to Arianespace’s launchpad at the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. Steve Metayer, Project Kuiper’s vice president of production operations, emphasized the complexity of building advanced communications satellites and the importance of meeting standards for performance, reliability, and safety.

Amazon expects to significantly increase satellite production and launch rates next year to meet a July 2026 regulatory deadline for deploying half of the constellation. According to its Federal Communication Commission license, the remaining satellites must be deployed within three years. To date, Amazon has hired 120 of the 200 skilled manufacturing employees needed for its Kirkland facility. The Lake Washington Institute of Technology is developing a satellite manufacturing certification program to cultivate local talent.