AMAZON.COM said it anticipates launching its first batch of internet-from-space satellites in the fourth quarter of this year after previously saying they would be sent aloft as soon as the first half.
The company now aims to start the first customer tests of its Project Kuiper network in 2025, production operations chief Steve Metayer said at a ribbon-cutting event to open Amazon’s satellite production facility in suburban Seattle.
Commercial service, which can begin in a limited fashion when Amazon has hundreds of satellites aloft, will follow later in 2025. The company had previously said service would begin next year.
Ultimately, Amazon aims to provide broadband Internet from a constellation of more than 3,000 satellites, providing competition for Elon Musk’s Starlink network.
The company launched two prototypes in October. Amazon is now retiring those as it works to ramp up manufacturing at a Kirkland, Washington, factory that will eventually produce as many as five satellites a day. BLOOMBERG
