Amazon Deploys 396 Satellites, Nearing Starlink Competitor Launch

Amazon’s low‑Earth‑orbit broadband project, Leo, reached a milestone on Tuesday night when a launch added enough satellites to bring the total in orbit to 396. According to Chris Weber, vice president of business and product for Amazon Leo, this constellation size is “enough to support continuous service across initial latitudes,” moving the company toward its goal of commercial availability by mid‑2026. The latest payloads were delivered on a series of launch vehicles, as illustrated in a recently released image that sorts the satellites by rocket type.

While the expanded fleet positions Leo to begin offering service, analysts note that the network will not achieve full performance immediately. SpaceX’s comparable “Better than nothing beta” began in 2020 with nearly 900 operational satellites, initially serving a limited user base. Amazon’s progress, however, signals a significant step toward establishing a viable competitor to Starlink in the satellite internet market.