Amazon Leo Launches 29 More Satellites

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) rocket successfully deployed 29 Leo satellites into low Earth orbit for Amazon. One of the biggest companies is thus on track to launch its broadband service later this year after bringing the constellation’s total to 396.

The satellites lifted off aboard ULA’s Atlas V rocket, marking the eighth Leo Atlas flight and ULA’s 14th mission for the programme overall. The launch also closed out the Leo Atlas campaign entirely, with Amazon’s next mission set to fly on ULA’s new heavy-lift Vulcan rocket, which is expected to carry larger payloads and boost the pace of deployment going forward.

Melissa Wuerl, Amazon Leo’s director of launch systems, said that Atlas V had been critical to the constellation’s early buildout, delivering 224 satellites across eight missions with a perfect success record. She noted that Amazon now has hundreds of flight-ready satellites staged at Cape Canaveral, Florida, along with a new vertical integration facility built to support upcoming Vulcan launches.

In a LinkedIn post, Chris Weber, vice president of business and product for Amazon Leo, stated Amazon still has significant work ahead, including raising the newly launched satellites into position. He noted that the company has completed enough launches to support its initial service launch this year, with future missions serving primarily to expand coverage and capacity rather than being required for the service debut itself.

The initial Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licence required Amazon to have half of its planned first-generation constellation launched by the end of July 2026. The FCC waived the deadline requirement last month, but Amazon is still mandated to deploy its full 3,232-satellite constellation by the final deadline of 30 July 2029.