Amazon’s Starlink rival Project Kuiper faces another delay

The first production satellites from Amazon’s Starlink rival, the Kuiper project, were initially It was supposed to launch in the first half of 2024, but the company has now confirmed that it has to push the launch date back to the fourth quarter.

In a blog postAmazon said it is preparing to ship the first completed production satellites to launch sites “this summer,” though it appears the satellites won’t fly until October at the earliest.

“We are targeting our first full-scale Kuiper mission in the fourth quarter aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket,” the company wrote.

The delay also pushes back Amazon’s plans to launch beta trials for Project Kuiper, which were also scheduled to begin later this year with commercial customers. Instead, the company told PCMag, “We plan to begin offering demonstrations to enterprise customers in early 2025.”

“We will continue to increase our satellite production and deployment rates through 2025, and we remain on track to begin offering services to our customers next year,” the company added in Thursday’s blog post.

Amazon hasn’t explained the cause of the delay, but it could be due to its launch partners. In 2022, Amazon announcement It would use next-generation rockets from United Launch Alliance, Arianespace and Blue Origin to launch the majority of the 3,236 satellites in the Kuiper constellation. However, all three companies have faced their own challenges getting their next-generation rockets off the ground.

In the meantime, Amazon plans to use United Launch Alliance’s old Atlas V rockets to launch the first production satellites for Kuiper, but the timeline is tight. The FCC requires Amazon to launch half of its planned Kuiper constellation by July 2026, though the company could try to request an extension.

Despite the setback, Amazon took to its blog to tout the progress it’s made in manufacturing the satellites at a factory in Kirkland, Washington. “At full capacity, the factory will enable Project Kuiper to build up to five satellites per day,” the company wrote. “To keep up with this rapid pace, the team has invented new and more efficient ways to test hardware without compromising the reliability and safety of our spacecraft.”