Amazon to launch initial internet service as satellite fleet nears 400

Amazon expects to roll out initial internet service with its Leo broadband satellite network later this year after the company's latest launch put the orbiting constellation's satellite count over 390.

Newly branded Amazon Leo internet service formerly code-named as Project Kuiper is a low-Earth orbit satellite network designed to bring high-speed, low-latency broadband internet across the globe.

As reported by a ‌company executive, Amazon's latest batch of 29 satellites lifted off from Florida early on Thursday aboard an Atlas V rocket from United Launch Alliance, marking the company's 14th launch of dozens more planned to deploy more than 3,200 satellites that will provide global internet coverage from space.

While sharing a post on 'X' Amazon's Leo chief, Chris Weber said, "still lots of work ahead, including raising all these new satellites to their assigned altitude... but we’ve completed enough launches for initial service this year, and future missions just add coverage and capacity."

Notably Weber did not mentioned which region Amazon plans to begin service, but initial service is expected to begin near Earth's north and south poles and gradually spread inward toward the equator as more satellites are added.

The constellation has 394 satellites in orbit so far of 398 launched since April 2025, according to spaceflight analyst and Harvard astronomer Jonathan McDowell.

Amazon has been targeting a service start of mid-2026, relying on tens of billions of dollars worth of rocket ‌bookings to loft its satellites into space.

ULA's Atlas V has become a workhorse for the network as the other rockets Amazon plans to use, Blue Origin's New Glenn and ULA's Vulcan, are grounded.

Like Elon Musk's Starlink, Amazon also plans to offer internet service to consumers with Leo terminals sized from roughly the size of a laptop to larger and more powerful versions as well as governments and companies such as airlines.

The growing Leo constellation is a budding rival to SpaceX's established Starlink, which has a growing tally of roughly 10,000 satellites.

While Starlink has a massive multi-year head start with roughly 10,000 satellites in orbit, Amazon plans to leverage the seamless integration of Amazon Web Services (AWS) to entice enterprise clients, while bundling affordable hardware and residential pricing to capture rural consumer markets.