Amazon set to launch Leo, its rival to SpaceX's Starlink internet, later this year

Amazon says it now has enough satellites in orbit to begin commercial operations of its Leo internet-from-space service later this year, marking the most significant milestone yet in its bid to challenge SpaceX's Starlink.

The company launched 29 satellites aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in the early hours of Thursday, bringing its total constellation to more than 390 satellites.

That is "enough to support continuous service across initial latitudes," Chris Weber, vice president of business and product for Amazon Leo, said in a post on X.

Amazon announced its satellite internet project in 2019 and rebranded it as Amazon Leo in November 2025.

The company aims to build a constellation of roughly 3,236 satellites, though deployment has been hampered by a shortage of rocket capacity and a series of launch setbacks.

The most serious came on 28 May, when a New Glenn rocket owned by Blue Origin, founded by Amazon executive chairman Jeff Bezos, exploded during a hot-fire ground test at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.