The launch contracts for Project Kuiper will be supplemented with additional capacity in order to meet the satellite deployment schedule.
For the purpose of assisting with the deployment of Project Kuiper, Amazon’s low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband network, the company has entered into an agreement with SpaceX for three Falcon 9 launches. Because Project Kuiper satellites were built from the ground up to support a variety of launch vehicles and providers, we can lower the risk to our timetable and advance our goal of connecting underserved and unserved regions worldwide more quickly. The bulk of our satellite constellation can be launched using the 77 heavy-lift rockets we previously purchased from Arianespace, Blue Origin, and United Launch Alliance (ULA). The extra launches with SpaceX provide even more capability to meet our deployment schedule.
With over 270 successful launches under its belt, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is a reusable, two-stage launch vehicle intended for the dependable and secure transportation of people and payloads into Earth orbit and beyond. Three Falcon 9 launches have been contracted by Project Kuiper, with the first mission scheduled to launch in mid-2025.
Two prototype satellites were recently launched by Project Kuiper, and the mission’s testing have confirmed our network architecture and satellite design. We anticipate having enough satellites deployed to start early customer pilots in the second half of 2024. We are getting ready to start manufacturing satellites in advance of a full-scale deployment that will commence in the first half of 2024.