Amazon ships Kuiper satellites to Florida
January 27, 2025
By Chris Forrester

Amazon has shipped the first of its Kuiper satellites. The satellites themselves were well wrapped up within metal containers, but Amazon has admitted that the containers contained more of their Project Kuiper broadband communications satellites.
“Late last year, we began shipping flight-ready satellites, and even more have been on their way in recent weeks,” the Project Kuiper team said in a post on LinkedIn.
The satellites are built in Kirkland, Washington State and then sent to Florida for final testing and being made ready for launch.
Two prototype test satellites were launched back in October 2023. But a larger batch, probably including these latest items, are due for launch sometime in the next few months on a giant United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, lifting off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The overall Kuiper plan calls for 3,232 satellites to be launched into low Earth orbit and provide high-speed internet and other broadband services. The current FCC rules demand that at least half of this constellation be launched by mid-2026.
Project Kuiper will then compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink system, and Eutelsat’s OneWeb service. Starlink, however, is well ahead with a near-5 million active users, plus permissions to operate from more than 100 countries.
“From our Ka-band phased array antennas to our active propulsion systems and 100 Gbps laser links, we’re launching some of the most advanced communications satellites ever built, and we expect the extra invention will pay off for our customers,” Rajeev Badyal, Amazon’s VP/technology, wrote. “Lots of work still ahead, but we’re getting closer every day to the start of a full-scale deployment.”