Amazon Leo (formerly Project Kuiper) has crossed the deployment threshold its own team set for first paying users, but still trails SpaceX's Starlink by a wide margin.
Amazon's satellite internet unit has crossed the deployment threshold its own leadership set for starting service, with the company's Leo chief saying on Wednesday that initial broadband operations will begin later this year.
The trigger is a United Launch Alliance Atlas V mission from Florida on July 2 that delivered 29 satellites to orbit, pushing the constellation to roughly 400 spacecraft, according to Amazon's project page. Before the launch, Amazon's own count stood at more than 375; the 29-satellite addition puts the in-orbit fleet near the 400 mark cited in coverage of the launch.
"It signals that we have completed enough launches for initial service this yr," Chris Weber, Amazon Leo's vice president for business and product, wrote on X after the launch, calling the constellation's progress a switch-on moment rather than an industry coup.
The network, rebranded from Project Kuiper to Amazon Leo, is designed to deliver broadband from low-Earth orbit at a planned scale of more than 3,200 satellites. That target puts the operation in direct competition with SpaceX's Starlink, which has a far larger existing constellation and years of subscriber revenue behind it.
The July 2 mission was Amazon's 14th launch in the broader deployment effort and the second of 2026, per Amazon's corporate update. The wider plan still depends on additional launch capacity beyond Atlas V. Industry reporting notes that two of Amazon's planned launch vehicles remain grounded, and Blue Origin's New Glenn destroyed a launchpad earlier this year, leaving the company reliant on a narrower launch lineup until alternatives come back online.
Service is expected to begin with coverage concentrated near the polar regions rather than the equator, meaning U.S. and European subscribers will not be the first in line as Amazon opens the network. Amazon has not announced a country-specific service date, and Weber's "this year" wording leaves the precise switch-on timeline open.
The roughly 400-satellite fleet is enough for Amazon to call the deployment bar met; it is not enough to call the broadband race close. Starlink's existing constellation operates far larger, and Amazon's 3,200-plus target remains a multi-year buildout.