Amazon Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper, is Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite-internet initiative designed to provide broadband access to regions that lack reliable connectivity. The new name “Leo” refers directly to low Earth orbit (LEO), the orbital regime where the constellation operates. The system will use a constellation of more than 3,000 satellites operating about 590–630 kilometers (366–391 miles) above Earth, supported by gateway ground stations and global fiber infrastructure. Its goal is to serve unserved and underserved populations, including individuals, schools, hospitals, businesses, and government agencies in remote or infrastructure-limited areas. Development began in 2018 and received FCC approval in 2020. The first two prototype satellites launched in October 2023, and Amazon has since deployed more than 150 operational satellites as part of early constellation build-out.

Amazon Leo is managed by Amazon’s Devices and Services division, with satellites manufactured in Kirkland, Washington, and launch integration handled at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Amazon has secured more than 80 launch missions with ULA, Arianespace, Blue Origin, and SpaceX. SpaceX, which operates Starlink, is one of Amazon Leo’s direct competitors in the satellite-internet market. FCC regulations require Amazon to place at least half of its constellation in orbit by July 2026 and complete deployment by July 2029. The satellites incorporate optical inter-satellite laser links to increase throughput and reduce latency.

To reach customers, Amazon Leo uses three categories of user terminals: the compact Leo Nano offering speeds around 100 Mbps; the mid-range Leo Pro supporting roughly 400 Mbps; and the enterprise-grade Leo Ultra, capable of up to 1 Gbps. Amazon plans limited service availability for select enterprise users by late 2025, expanding in 2026 as more satellites reach orbit. The spacecraft are designed with debris-mitigation and astronomical-impact-reduction measures, including controlled deorbiting procedures and brightness-management practices.

Courtesy of Amazon.

New Glenn is named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth. The rocket stands at roughly the height of a 30-story building and features a seven-meter payload fairing, enabling twice the volume of standard five-meter class commercial launch systems.

Specs

Height: 98 m (322 ft)

Diameter: 7 m (23 ft)

Stages: 2

Payload to low Earth orbit (LEO): 45,000 kg (99,000 lb)

Payload to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO): 13,600 kg (30,000 lb)

The fairing is large enough to hold three school buses. Its reusable first stage aims for a minimum of 25 missions and will land on a sea-based platform located roughly 620 miles (1,000 km) downrange. Reusability is integral to radically reducing cost-per-launch.

The vehicle is powered by seven of Blue Origin’s BE-4 engines, the most powerful liquid oxygen (LOX) / liquefied natural gas (LNG) engine ever flown. LNG is cleaner-burning and higher-performing than kerosene-based fuels.

Blue Origin has several New Glenn vehicles in production and a full customer manifest. Customers include NASA, Project Kuiper, Telesat, and Eutelsat, among others. Blue Origin is certifying New Glenn with the U.S. Space Force for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program to meet emerging national security objectives.

Caption courtesy of Blue Origin. Photo courtesy of Jenny Hautmann for Supercluster.

Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station was originally built as a two-pad complex, consisting of Pads 36A and 36B, constructed in the early 1960s to support the Atlas-Centaur rocket program. Pad 36A’s first launch occurred on May 8, 1962, and it completed 69 government missions. Pad 36B followed with its first launch on August 11, 1965, and supported 76 missions.

Throughout its government use, LC-36 hosted a wide range of Atlas-Centaur missions, including NASA’s Surveyor, Mariner, and Pioneer spacecraft, along with commercial and military payloads. The final Atlas III-Centaur mission lifted off from Pad 36B in 2005, marking the end of Atlas operations at the site.

In 2007, the mobile service towers on both 36A and 36B were demolished, bringing an end to the original two-pad configuration. Blue Origin leased the complex in 2015 and began redevelopment in 2016, rebuilding LC-36 into a single modern launch pad for the New Glenn orbital rocket. On January 16, 2025, New Glenn launched from LC-36, the first mission from the site in 20 years.

Caption and photo courtesy of Blue Origin.

Blue Origin's Jacklyn is a specialized landing platform designed to recover the first stage of the New Glenn rocket. Named after Jeff Bezos's mother, Jacklyn serves as an ocean-based droneship. Its purpose is to provide a safe landing location for the reusable first stage of New Glenn after it completes its role in launching payloads into space.

The Jacklyn droneship is equipped with systems to stabilize the rocket during recovery and transport it back to land for refurbishment.