Amazon’s Starlink Rival, Project Kuiper, Faces Another Delay

The first production satellites for Amazon’s rival to Starlink, Project Kuiper, were originally supposed to launch in the first half of 2024, but the company has now confirmed it needs to push the launch date to Q4. 

In a blog post, Amazon said it’s preparing to ship the first completed production satellites to launch sites “this summer,” though it looks like satellites won’t fly until October at the earliest.

“We’re targeting our first full-scale Kuiper mission for Q4 aboard an Atlas V rocket from ULA (United Launch Alliance),” the company wrote.

The delay also pushes back Amazon’s plan to kick off beta trials for Project Kuiper, which were also slated to begin later this year with commercial customers. Instead, the company tells PCMag: “We expect to begin offering demonstrations to enterprise customers in early 2025.”

“We will continue to increase our rates of satellite production and deployment heading into 2025, and we remain on track to begin offering service to customers next year,” the company added in Thursday’s blog post.

Amazon didn’t explain what caused the delay, but it may be due to its launch partners. In 2022, Amazon announced it would use next-generation rockets from United Launch Alliance, Arianespace, and Blue Origin to send up the majority of Kuiper’s 3,236-satellite constellation. However, all three companies have faced their own struggles in getting their next-generation rockets off the ground. 

In the meantime, Amazon plans on using United Launch Alliance’s older Atlas V rockets to launch the first production satellites for Kuiper, but it’s facing a tight deadline. The FCC is requiring Amazon to launch half of its planned constellation for Kuiper by July 2026, although the company could try to request an extension.

Despite the setback, Amazon used Thursday’s blog post to tout its progress in manufacturing the satellites at a facility in Kirkland, Washington. “At peak capacity, the factory will enable Project Kuiper to build up to five satellites per day,” the company wrote. “To meet that rapid cadence, the team has invented new, more efficient ways to test hardware without compromising the reliability and safety of our spacecraft.”