Amazon asks FCC to extend satellite limit as it buys more SpaceX rides
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is on the launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 9, 2025, carrying the Amazon Project Kuiper internet network satellites that are expected to eventually rival Elon Musk’s Starlink system.
Steve Nesius | Reuters
Amazon It asked the Federal Communications Commission for more time to meet a deadline requiring the company to deploy about 1,600 internet satellites by July 2026.
The company needs to bring more satellites online before it can start offering internet from space service, which was recently rebranded as Amazon Leo. The company has allocated at least $10 billion to build the network.
Delays beyond Amazon’s control, including a “lack of near-term availability” of rockets, necessitated the extension, the company said in a filing made public Friday. Amazon also noted production cuts, malfunctions and groundings of new launch vehicles, and limits on spaceport capacity.
Leo “builds satellites much faster than others can launch,” the company wrote.
The company now wants a 24-month extension through July 2028 or for the FCC to waive a deadline that would require Amazon to remove about half of its 3,236 low-Earth satellites.
Amazon announced plans to build a constellation of low-Earth satellites in 2019. They are designed to provide high-speed, low-latency internet to consumers, businesses and governments by offering connections through square-shaped terminals.
Amazon has booked more than 100 launches to deploy dozens of satellites simultaneously. The company said in the filing that it has purchased 10 more launches with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and a dozen additional vehicles from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ space exploration venture Blue Origin.
The company said many of its partners achieved significant launch milestones with their rockets last year.
“Despite this progress, development timelines for these next-generation tools have expanded beyond initial estimates, contributing to Amazon Leo’s deployment delays,” the company wrote.
Amazon has launched more than 150 satellites since April. The company said it expects to deploy about 700 satellites by July 30, “moving from the third-largest satellite constellation in orbit to the second-largest satellite constellation.” His next launch Amazon is scheduled to launch 32 more satellites into space on February 12, atop a rocket from Arianespace, a French company.
Leo’s main competitor is SpaceX’s Starlink, which has more than 9,000 satellites in orbit and nearly 9 million customers. Another competitor, OneWeb, is operated by France’s Eutelsat and has a constellation of more than 600 satellites.
In November, Amazon opened an “enterprise preview” of Leo to select select users ahead of a broader commercial launch.
Amazon said if the FCC denies the extension, it would “undermine” the agency’s goals of expanding spectrum access and encouraging “rapid deployment.” The company also noted that the agency has granted similar extensions before.
“Amazon Leo is engaged in full-scale deployment and stands on the cusp of delivering a competitive and innovative new service to U.S. customers,” the company said. “The extension would allow for this rapid and ongoing deployment to continue, while strict enforcement would disrupt or stall that effort.”
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