A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is on the launch pad carrying Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet network satellites, which are expected to eventually rival Elon Musk’s Starlink system, at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 9, 2025.
Steve Nesius | Reuters
Amazon has asked the Federal Communications Commission for more time to meet a deadline that requires the company to deploy roughly 1,600 internet satellites by July 2026.
The company needs to bring more of its satellites online so it can begin offering an internet-from-space service that was recently rebranded as Amazon Leo. The company has earmarked at least $10 billion to build the network.
Delays beyond Amazon’s control, including a “shortage in the near-term availability” of rockets, necessitate an extension, the company said in a filing made public on Friday. Amazon also pointed to manufacturing disruptions, the failure and grounding of new launch vehicles and limitations on spaceport capacity.
Leo is “producing satellites considerably faster than others can launch them,” the company wrote.
The company is now seeking a 24-month extension, to July 2028, or for the FCC to waive its deadline requiring Amazon to get roughly half of its 3,236 low Earth satellites up.
In 2019, Amazon unveiled its plans to build a constellation of low Earth satellites. They are designed to provide high-speed, low-latency internet to consumers, corporations and governments, offering connections through square-shaped terminals.
Amazon has booked more than 100 launches to deploy dozens of satellites at a time. The company said in the filing that it has bought 10 more launches with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, as well as a dozen additional rides with Blue Origin, the space exploration startup of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
The company said that many of its partners have notched significant launch milestones with their respective rockets in the past year.
“Not withstanding this progress, the development timelines for these next-generation vehicles have extended beyond initial projections, contributing to Amazon Leo’s deployment delays,” the company wrote.
Amazon has sent up more than 150 satellites since April. The company said it expects to deploy about 700 satellites by July 30, “moving from the third- to the second-largest satellite constellation in orbit.” Its next launch is slated for Feb. 12, when Amazon will fling another 32 satellite into space atop a rocket from Arianespace, a French company.
Leo’s primary rival is SpaceX’s Starlink, which has more than 9,000 satellites in orbit and roughly 9 million customers. Another challenger, OneWeb, is operated by France’s Eutelsat and has a constellation of more than 600 satellites.
In November, Amazon opened up an “enterprise preview” of Leo to select users ahead of a broader commercial launch.
Amazon said if the FCC were to deny it an extension, it would “undermine” the agency’s goals of expanding spectrum access and promoting “expeditious deployment.” The company also noted that the agency has previously granted similar extensions.
“Amazon Leo is engaged in full-scale deployment and stands on the doorstep of offering U.S. customers a competitive and innovative new service,” the company said. “An extension would enable this rapid and ongoing deployment to continue, while strict enforcement would interrupt or halt this effort.”
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