Amazon's Leo satellite internet network has surpassed 390 satellites in orbit, which the company says is enough to support initial commercial service across select geographies later this year, as it works to close the gap with SpaceX's Starlink.
Amazon said Thursday it has accumulated enough satellites in orbit to begin initial commercial service of its Leo broadband network later this year, marking a significant operational threshold in the company's effort to compete with SpaceX's Starlink in the low Earth orbit internet market.
The company launched 29 additional satellites into orbit at approximately 12:30 a.m. ET Thursday aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, bringing its total constellation to more than 390 satellites.
Chris Weber, vice president of business and product for Amazon Leo, said that figure is "enough to support continuous service across initial latitudes." Weber made the announcement in a post on X.
Coverage under the initial rollout will be limited to certain geographic areas. Additional missions, Weber said, will "add coverage and capacity" as the constellation grows.
Amazon first offered an enterprise preview of Leo to select businesses in November 2025, but has not yet launched its service to consumers or government customers.
The milestone comes as Amazon works to close a considerable gap with Starlink. SpaceX launched Starlink in 2015 — four years before Amazon announced what was then called Project Kuiper in 2019, a service later rebranded as Leo. Starlink's constellation now numbers around 10,000 satellites, and the service counts more than 10 million subscribers.
Amazon's long-term target is a constellation of roughly 7,700 satellites, though the buildout has been complicated by a shortage of available rocket capacity. In a January regulatory filing seeking an extension on deployment deadlines, the company cited delays beyond its control, including what it described as a "shortage in the near-term availability" of rockets.
The capacity crunch was compounded in May when one of Blue Origin's New Glenn rockets exploded on the launchpad during a hot-fire test, days before it was scheduled to carry a batch of Leo satellites. The pad is currently being rebuilt. Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp have both said the company intends to return New Glenn to flight before the end of the year.
Amazon had previously signed a multi-provider launch agreement in 2022 with ULA, Arianespace, and Blue Origin — the latter founded by Bezos — and later added SpaceX to that roster. Many of those providers have encountered delays with their respective launch vehicles.
The company's next planned mission will use ULA's Vulcan heavy-lift rocket. Melissa Wuerl, Leo's director of launch systems, said in a statement that Vulcan "will carry even larger Leo payloads and help increase our deployment rate."
"With hundreds of flight-ready satellites standing by at the Cape and a new, dedicated vertical integration facility ready to support Leo Vulcan 1 and subsequent missions, we have a clear path to increase launch and deployment cadence, helping us quickly expand network coverage following an initial service rollout later this year," Wuerl said.
The pace at which Amazon can execute additional launches in the second half of 2026 will determine how quickly Leo can expand beyond its initial geographic footprint and begin competing for the broader consumer and government contracts that Starlink currently dominates.
Jay Goldberg is a staff writer at TechEchelon covering technology, markets, and policy. He files the breaking news and deal coverage that move the publication's core desks.
More from Jay →The House approved the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act of 2025 by a 414-2 margin, allowing mutual funds and most ETFs to temporarily freeze withdrawal requests when financial exploitation of older or disabled account holders is suspected. The bill now heads to the Senate, where an earlier version stalled in 2023.
Bending Spoons, the Milan-based acquirer of stagnant software brands including Evernote and Vimeo, closed its IPO debut at $40.50 — nearly 40% above its $29 offering price — valuing the company at $25.7 billion.
Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce and ServiceNow to buy on Wednesday, arguing AI will pressure but not kill the platforms, sending shares up more than 5% and 6%, respectively, in midday trading.
Written for readers who already know the basics — markets, AI, and the policy decisions that shape both.