Amazon has announced a revision to the timeline for the debut of its Project Kuiper, an initiative to provide internet services from space, pushing the launch of its inaugural fleet of satellites to the last quarter of 2024. This adjustment marks a shift from the original schedule, which aimed for the first launches to occur in the first half of 2024, positioning Project Kuiper as a competitor to SpaceX’s Starlink service.
The update came to light during a ceremony to inaugurate Amazon’s new satellite manufacturing facility located in the suburbs of Seattle. Steve Metayer, the Production Operations Chief for Project Kuiper, revealed that the company is now aiming to begin preliminary customer trials of the Project Kuiper network in 2025.
In a detailed blog post, Amazon stated that it is gearing up to transport the initial batch of completed production satellites to launch sites “this summer.” However, the actual deployment of the satellites into orbit is not expected until at least October.
The blog included a statement that read, “We’re targeting our first full-scale Kuiper mission for Q4 aboard an Atlas V rocket from ULA (United Launch Alliance).” This postponement means that Amazon’s original plan to initiate beta testing for Project Kuiper with commercial customers later in 2024 will also be delayed.
Amazon has now indicated that demonstrations for enterprise customers are anticipated to commence in early 2025. The company envisions starting commercial service on a limited scale once it has successfully placed hundreds of satellites in orbit.
Amazon has expressed its commitment to ramping up the production and deployment of satellites as it moves towards 2025, maintaining that it is on schedule to start providing services to customers in the following year.
The company did not specify the reasons for the launch delay of Project Kuiper, leading to speculation that the cause might be related to its launch partners. In 2022, Amazon, owned by Jeff Bezos, declared that it would rely on the latest rockets from United Launch Alliance, Arianespace, and Blue Origin to deliver the majority of Kuiper’s satellite constellation, which consists of 3,236 satellites, into space.
However, since that announcement, each of the three companies has encountered distinct challenges in launching their next-generation rockets.
Amazon’s goal with Project Kuiper is to offer broadband internet service through its extensive satellite network, which will be constructed and dispatched from its new facility. This initiative is set to provide a competitive alternative to SpaceX’s Starlink network, with the ambition of delivering global internet coverage.
Amazon has decided to decommission the two prototype satellites it deployed in October as part of its ongoing efforts to refine the manufacturing processes at its Kirkland, Washington facility. This factory is poised to achieve a production capacity of up to five satellites per day.
In November 2023, the company successfully conducted tests on its satellite Internet system, and to showcase the capabilities of the technology in Earth’s orbit, Amazon released a video. The demonstration highlighted how the system transmits Internet access from space to Amazon engineers located on the ground, providing a tangible example of the system’s potential to deliver broadband connectivity.
