Amazon Builds 1,000th Broadband Satellite as Service Launch Approaches

Amazon has manufactured its 1,000th broadband satellite as it prepares to deploy commercial internet service in the coming weeks, according to reporting by The Next Web (https://thenextweb.com/news/amazon-leo-1000th-satellite-europe). The company has accelerated its manufacturing cadence from taking six months to build its initial 27 units to producing 27 satellites per week.

Amazon currently has 396 satellites in orbit, unchanged from July, against a target of 3,232 required for its first-generation constellation. Rajeev Badyal, who heads the satellite program after leading Starlink until Elon Musk dismissed him eight years ago, told Ars Technica that Amazon is weeks away from launching satellites on a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket, followed by an Arianespace flight and at least one additional Vulcan launch before year-end.

The production acceleration follows Amazon's conversion of an empty 170,000-square-foot facility in Kirkland, Washington, acquired in December 2022 and turned into an operational factory in 15 months. Amazon builds its propulsion systems internally and adapted testing methods from consumer electronics to reduce inspection cycles from weeks to hours, making it the second-largest satellite manufacturer behind SpaceX.

Orbital deployments have faced launch vehicle bottlenecks. Vulcan was grounded by a nozzle defect, and a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded on its launch pad in May, even as Amazon maintains roughly 100 booked launches across four launch providers.

Under regulatory requirements, Amazon was slated to deploy 1,616 satellites by July 30. After Amazon requested a two-year extension in January due to launch vehicle shortages, the Federal Communications Commission waived the deadline but revoked spectrum priority in the Ka and Ku bands for satellites launched after that date, requiring those spacecraft to avoid interfering with Starlink.

The FCC stated that spectrum priority could be restored starting in October 2027 if Amazon demonstrates completed hardware construction and secured launch manifests. Amazon is presenting its 1,000 completed satellites alongside vertical Vulcan rockets as evidence of readiness, while design and filings for a second-generation constellation are already underway.

Beyond its US manifest, Amazon has contracted launches on Ariane 6, with telecommunications partners Vodafone and Vodacom serving as beta customers across Europe and Africa since April. In parallel, the European Commission plans to reserve two-thirds of the 2 GHz mobile-satellite band for European operators, while the EU's IRIS2 satellite network, signed in August, is not scheduled to carry customers until 2030.