Amazon's Project Kuiper Delays Full-Scale Mission to Late 2024 Amidst Rising LEO Satellite Competition

Amazon's Project Kuiper Delays Full-Scale Mission to Late 2024 Amidst Rising LEO Satellite Competition
Image credit: BBC News

Amazon's first full-scale mission for Project Kuiper has been postponed to late 2024, a year after its initial prototype satellites reached orbit. Originally set for the first half of 2024, this mission will now launch in the fourth quarter aboard an Atlas V rocket from ULA, as announced by Amazon from its satellite manufacturing facility in Kirkland, Washington.

The company has secured nine Atlas V launches, the first of which successfully deployed the Project Kuiper Protoflight mission on October 6, 2023. The second launch is now slated for the first full-scale mission, with the remaining launches expected in 2025. However, Kuiper Systems will compete for launch slots with ViaSat and Boeing's Starliner at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

In addition to using Atlas V, Project Kuiper will rely on Blue Origin's New Glenn, Arianespace's Ariane 6, and SpaceX to establish its Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite broadband network. Amazon plans to deploy a total of 3,236 satellites for this network. The first two prototype satellites are currently lowering their orbits for disposal in Earth's atmosphere, expected to burn up at an altitude of 217 miles (350 kilometers).

Image credit: CoStar website 

Amazon has not provided a specific reason for the delay. According to its FCC license, the company must launch half of its satellites by July 30, 2026, and the remainder by July 2029. This delay reduces Kuiper Systems' timeline to less than two years to launch over 1,000 satellites.

Concerns have been raised about the increasing number of LEO satellites. Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell noted that Starlink already has over 6,000 active satellites, and adding thousands more with Project Kuiper could pose challenges for scientists and astronomers.

At its peak, the Kirkland factory can produce up to five Project Kuiper satellites per day. Amazon anticipates shipping the first production satellites later this summer and plans to increase satellite production and deployment rates into 2025, with the goal of beginning customer service next year.