Amazon Leo

In April 2019, Kuiper Systems LLC, a subsidiary of Amazon, announced Project Kuiper, a broadband internet satellite constellation comprising up to 3,236 satellites, operating in 98 orbital planes in three orbital shells, at 590 km, 610 km, and 630 km at inclinations of 33°, 42°, and 51.9° (although a briefing at MilCIS2025 foreshadowed five shells between 590-630 km at inclinations of 33°, 42°, 51.9°, 66° and 82°).

Deployment is planned in five phases, with service beginning once Phase 1 (the first 578 satellites) is launched to 630 km altitude and an inclination of 51.9°. FCC approval requires Amazon to have 50% of its satellites (1,618) operational by 30 July 2026, with the remaining satellites operational by 30 July 2029. Two initial prototype satellites, KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2, were launched on 6 October 2023 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on a ULA Atlas V rocket. The first operational batch of 27 satellites was launched on 28 April 2025. Deployment accelerated throughout 2025 and 2026 using Atlas V, Falcon 9, and Ariane 6 launch vehicles. By July 2026, Amazon had launched almost 400 satellites toward its planned 3,236-satellite constellation, with commercial broadband service expected to commence later in 2026.

On launch, the satellites are first released into a parking orbit around 450 km altitude. Mission controllers at Amazon’s operations center in Redmond, Washington, assume control and complete health checks before raising the satellites to their final orbit of 630 km.

Amazon offers several terminals suitable for different market needs. The standard customer Ka-band phased-array terminal is less than 30-cm square with a mass of less than 2.5 kg, with speeds up to 400 Mbps and at a cost of less than $400. A 20-cm square terminal has a mass of half a kilogram and offers speeds up to 100 Mbps to suit residential customers, as well as government and enterprise customers in mobile applications. A high-bandwidth design 48×75 cm terminal delivers speeds up to 1 Gbps for enterprise, government, and telecommunications applications.

Project Kuiper announced several significant advancements and collaborations. In December 2023, its optical inter-satellite link (OISL) capability was unveiled, to be operational on the first production satellites in 2024, providing high-speed laser cross-links forming a secure, resilient mesh network in space. The OISL technology uses infrared lasers to send data between satellites, achieving 100 Gbps links over nearly 621 miles (1,000 km).

Furthermore, Project Kuiper confirmed a 100% success rate for its Protoflight mission within 30 days of launching two prototype satellites into space. This achievement allowed full validation of the satellite constellation's architecture and design, including demonstrations of 4K video streaming and two-way video calls over the network.

Additionally, Project Kuiper's custom electric propulsion system, designed and built in-house, has been successfully tested, demonstrating the capability for satellites to maneuver safely in space. This includes maintaining assigned orbits, avoiding space debris, and actively deorbiting at the end of their missions.

In November 2025, Amazon announced a re-branding of the constellation to be called Amazon Leo.

In a strategic move to expand its global reach, Amazon Leo has formed its first strategic collaboration in the Asia-Pacific region with Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT), NTT DOCOMO, Inc., NTT Communications Corporation, and SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation. This collaboration aims to bring advanced satellite connectivity options to Japan, enhancing communications availability and resiliency for Japanese customers.

In August 2025, NBN Co announced plans to offer wholesale Amazon Leo broadband services to more than 300,000 premises within their existing footprint.