Washington, United States. Amazon expects to begin initial internet service with its Leo broadband satellite network later this year, a company executive said after the company’s latest launch raised the constellation’s satellite count in orbit above 390.
Latest launch raises satellite total
Amazon’s latest batch of 29 satellites launched from Florida early on Thursday aboard an Atlas V rocket from United Launch Alliance. The mission marked the company’s 14th launch as it works toward deploying more than 3,200 satellites for global internet coverage from space.
Leo chief Chris Weber said in a post on X that the company still had significant work ahead, including raising the newly launched satellites to their assigned altitude. He said Amazon had completed enough launches for initial service this year and that future missions would add coverage and capacity.
According to spaceflight analyst and Harvard astronomer Jonathan McDowell, the constellation has 394 satellites in orbit out of 398 launched since April 2025.
Service rollout plans
Weber did not say where Amazon plans to begin service. Initial service is expected to start near Earth’s north and south poles and gradually expand toward the equator as additional satellites are added.
Amazon has been targeting a service start of mid-2026 and has booked tens of billions of dollars in rocket launches to place its satellites in orbit.
Competition and launch dependence
The Leo constellation is emerging as a rival to SpaceX’s Starlink network, which has roughly 10,000 satellites. Like Starlink, Amazon plans to provide internet service to consumers through Leo terminals ranging from laptop-sized devices to larger and more powerful versions, as well as to governments and companies including airlines.
ULA’s Atlas V has become a key rocket for Leo as the other launch vehicles Amazon plans to use, Blue Origin’s New Glenn and ULA’s Vulcan, are grounded.
Delays affecting other rockets
A New Glenn rocket exploded on its launchpad last month, destroying the launch tower and other hardware. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said he expects New Glenn launches to resume by the end of the year as engineers investigate the rocket’s engine section to determine the cause of the explosion.
ULA’s Vulcan rocket, which is scheduled to launch at least 40 Leo missions for Amazon, is also grounded because of a solid rocket motor separation issue encountered in February. Vulcan uses the same Blue Origin-built BE-4 engines as New Glenn and could face a longer delay if Blue Origin determines that the BE-4 engines were responsible for the New Glenn explosion.
ULA spokeswoman Jessica Rye said Blue Origin engineers “are being transparent with us as they work through the investigation. If there are crossover items with the BE-4 engines, we will collaborate with the team to find root cause and address it.”
