Amazon says it will launch Leo satellites into orbit by 2026

• Amazon says it will launch its Leo satellites for a communications network into orbit in 2026 or earlier, with the company saying that the satellites will be placed into orbit within about a year of the launch.
• After launching 29 Atlas V rockets for Leo, the company will have achieved 390 or close to 396 operational satellites, after which the start of the service will be possible.
• According to the materials, the launch of satellites is planned to be carried out using Starlink launches, with New Glenn and Vulcan as well.

Amazon says that the launch will take place in order to provide the Leo satellite internet service. According to the materials, the company plans to start commercial service of this system in mid-2026.

The material from Independent states that, at the time of filing, 29 satellites from Florida-based rocket company United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V were planned to be deployed at 390. The material also notes that Leo’s orbit is expected to be reached in X with a delay of how many launches for the service, and the company plans to resolve the issue by increasing the number of satellites.

The material from The Next Web says that the company’s plan is to launch 2 million satellites on Atlas V out of 29 launches, with Leo satellites reaching 396 operational satellites. It also states that Amazon expects to start commercial service of this system in the middle of 2026, and that the start of the service will not be delayed: the company says that the service will be unavailable for no more than a few months.

Independent also reports that Amazon has planned 3,232 satellites for the first Leo deployment, while the second deployment will involve 4,504 satellites. The Next Web notes that the first deployment of satellites is expected to reach 3,232 satellites by 2029.

The materials point to the scale of the Starlink constellation: Independent says that SpaceX has launched 10,000 satellites, and the service has already covered more than 12 million customers in over 150 countries. The Next Web also notes that SpaceX has already launched almost 10 million satellites.

Independent adds that Amazon’s launch of the Leo constellation is still dependent on the launch schedule: the materials say that Blue Origin’s New Glenn and Vulcan will be used, but that the schedule may change due to problems with the rockets. The Next Web also adds that New Glenn’s launch schedule will be uncertain, while Vulcan’s launch schedule will be affected by the reliability of the rocket.

Tags: Technology/Space