GoKawiilA United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is shown on its launch pad carrying Amazon's Project Kuiper internet network satellites as the vehicle is prepared for launch at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., April 28, 2025.
Amazon said it now has enough satellites in orbit to begin "initial service" of its Leo internet-from-space network later this year.
The company shipped 29 satellites into orbit around 12:30 a.m. ET on Thursday atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The mission brings Amazon's total constellation to more than 390 satellites, which is "enough to support continuous service across initial latitudes," Chris Weber, vice president of business and product for Amazon Leo, wrote in a post on X.
It's a key milestone for Amazon as the company tries to make Leo a competitor to SpaceX 's Starlink in the low Earth orbit satellite market. In November, Amazon began offering an "enterprise preview" of Leo for select businesses, but it has yet to launch its service for consumers and government customers.
Amazon's initial commercial service will likely be limited to users in certain geographies. Future missions will "add coverage and capacity," Weber said.
SpaceX had a four-year head start on Amazon, launching Starlink in 2015. It has since amassed a constellation of around 10,000 satellites and more than 10 million subscribers. Amazon announced the creation of Kuiper in 2019, and later changed the name to Leo.