SpaceX Lands Project Kuiper Launch Contract
SpaceX Lands Project Kuiper Launch Contract
Amazon Buys Three Launch Slots from Competitor
Amazon has signed a contract with SpaceX for three Falcon 9 launches to support deployment plans for Project Kuiper, Amazon’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband network. Project Kuiper satellites were designed from the start to accommodate multiple launch providers and vehicles, allowing us to reduce schedule risk and move faster in our mission to connect unserved and underserved communities around the world. Our earlier procurement of 77 heavy-lift rockets from Arianespace, Blue Origin, and United Launch Alliance (ULA) provides enough capacity to launch the majority of our satellite constellation, and the additional launches with SpaceX offer even more capacity to support our deployment schedule.
Project Kuiper has contracted three Falcon 9 launches, and these missions are targeted to lift off beginning in mid-2025.
Project Kuiper recently launched two prototype satellites, and tests from the mission have helped validate our satellite design and network architecture. We are preparing to start satellite manufacturing ahead of a full-scale deployment beginning in the first half of 2024, and we expect to have enough satellites deployed to begin early customer pilots in the second half of 2024.
In April of 2022, Amazon announced that it had secured up to 83 launches from three commercial space companies—Arianespace, Blue Origin, and United Launch Alliance (ULA)—to provide heavy-lift capacity for the program. These agreements mean we have enough capacity to carry into space the majority of the 3,236 satellites that make up our satellite constellation.
The three agreements include 38 launches on ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket, 18 launches on Arianespace’s Ariane 6, and 12 launches on Blue Origin’s New Glenn, with options for 15 additional launches. Together, they represent the largest commercial procurement of space launch services in history, and our investments will support thousands of suppliers and highly skilled jobs in the space industry across the United States and Europe.
However, all three boosters remain under development, with the first flight of the ULA rocket planned for Christmas Eve this year, and the Ariane 6 is not scheduled to fly before June of next year. No initial launch date has been set for the New Glenn heavy lift booster.