Construction is underway for a $120 million facility in Florida that will process Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites for launch — marking one more giant leap toward creating the company’s global broadband internet constellation.
Details about the facility came to light today at a ceremony hosted by Amazon and Space Florida, the state’s aerospace industry development agency, at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch and Landing Facility. That former space shuttle landing strip where Amazon’s 100,000-square-foot facility will take shape in the months ahead.
The construction project complements Amazon’s efforts to create a 172,000-square-foot satellite production facility in Kirkland, Wash., which will turn out thousands of satellites for Project Kuiper. Today Amazon said that facility will begin production by the end of this year.
Amazon’s plans call for setting up a 3,236-satellite constellation, with at least half of those satellites launched by mid-2026. The resulting network is meant to provide broadband internet access for tens of millions of people around the world who are currently underserved — and will facilitate satellite-based offerings from Amazon Web Services and the Seattle-based company’s other divisions.
Project Kuiper has lagged behind SpaceX’s Starlink broadband satellite network, which already has more than 1.5 million subscribers around the world. The launch of Kuiper’s first two prototype satellites has faced repeated delays due to schedule snags — and is currently set for the last quarter of this year.
Steve Metayer, vice president of Kuiper Production Operations, vowed that Amazon would catch up quickly.
“We have an ambitious plan to begin Project Kuiper’s full-scale production launches and early customer pilots next year, and this new facility will play a critical role in helping us deliver on that timeline,” he said in an Amazon blog post.
The Florida processing facility will receive satellite shipments from the Kirkland factory, prepare the satellites for launch, connect them to Beyond Gravity’s orbital dispensers, and integrate the loaded dispensers with launch vehicles. The facility will feature a 100-foot-tall high-bay clean room that can accommodate the payload fairings for heavy-lift rockets such as Blue Origin’s New Glenn and United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur.
Blue Origin and ULA will provide most of the 77 heavy-lift launch vehicles that Amazon has secured for its Project Kuiper launches. Those rockets will lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, not far from the processing facility. Amazon’s billionaire founder, Jeff Bezos, is also the founder and owner of Blue Origin — but Amazon says it’s treating Bezos’ privately held space venture as if it were any other launch provider.
Space Florida has been facilitating the use of assets in and around NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for commercial applications. For example, it played a big role in establishing Blue Origin’s Florida presence.
Frank DiBello, president and CEO of Space Florida, said his state provides an “unbeatable location” for aerospace companies. “We couldn’t be more thrilled that Project Kuiper chose Space Florida’s Launch and Landing Facility for this facility, and we look forward to being a part of their mission of global connectivity,” he said.
Amazon has committed more than $10 billion to the build-out of Project Kuiper, and more than 1,400 employees are part of the project. Amazon said the Florida satellite processing facility would create up to 50 new jobs on Florida’s Space Coast.
For what it’s worth, the Project Kuiper careers website lists more than 350 open positions, including five in Florida and more than 300 in Washington state. One of the jobs sounds particularly intriguing: Amazon is looking for a project manager to focus on ground mobility applications, including connected cars.
