Amazon successfully launched the first 27 satellites for its Kuiper broadband internet constellation from Florida on Monday 28 April 2025, marking the beginning of the long-awaited “internet-from-space” network designed to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink.
The initial small batch of satellites is the first of 3,236 units to be sent into low-Earth orbit for Project Kuiper, a $10 billion initiative announced in 2019 to provide global broadband internet to consumers, businesses, and governments.
Launched via an Atlas V rocket from the United Launch Alliance, a joint Boeing and Lockheed Martin venture, the satellites took off at 7 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, after bad weather scotched an attempt nearly three weeks earlier.
Outlying, rural areas set to benefit
It is a move that positions Amazon as a rival to SpaceX’s Starlink, which has been targeting similar customers for years. Other global telecommunications providers like AT&T and T-Mobile are also in Jeff Bezos’s sights. Amazon executives believe their consumer product experience and established cloud computing will make it a superior offering.
Expected to be a boon to isolated, rural areas with limited or no connectivity, Project Kuiper’s name comes from an early codeword for the plan and is synonymous with the idea of the “outer reaches” or “third zone” of the solar system. There, the Kuiper Belt of icy objects beyond Neptune lies. Its namesake is Dutch-American astronomer Gerard Kuiper.
Amazon’s Kuiper broadband satellite constellation (competitor to Starlink) launched its first operational satellites to low-Earth orbit today. KA-01 is the first of scores of Kuiper launches. Kuiper service links are in Ka and Starlink to date is Ku. Tradeoffs are unavoidable. pic.twitter.com/JD2tOfUBaR
— Tren Griffin (@trengriffin) April 28, 2025
Prompt connection
The mission to deploy the first operational satellites has suffered delays, with Amazon initially hoping to launch the inaugural batch in early 2024. The company faces a U.S. Federal Communications Commission deadline of 50% completion by mid-2026. Analysts suggest an extension may be needed.
On the same day as the launch however, Amazon confirmed a prompt connection with the infrastructure. “Our team has already established contact with all 27 satellites, and initial deployment and activation sequences are proceeding nominally. We’ll have subsequent updates to share as the mission unfolds,” the company said.
A slow start in the race with SpaceX
ULA CEO Tory Bruno has indicated that up to five more Kuiper missions could be launched this year and that services could go live in some northern and southern regions with 578 satellites.
Amazon launched two prototype satellites in 2023, which were successfully tested before being de-orbited in 2024. In comparison, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has launched over 8,000 Starlink satellites since 2019, with a deployment pace of at least one Starlink mission per week. This rapid pace has helped SpaceX amass over five million internet users across 125 countries.
Amazon Executive Chairman, Bezos, expressed confidence in Kuiper’s ability to compete with Starlink, noting the public’s insatiable demand for internet. Consumers looking at using Kuiper will require kit, previewed in 2023, including an LP vinyl record-sized antenna and a smaller terminal Kindle-sized device. The company plans to produce tens of millions of these consumer terminals, priced at under $400 each.
