Amazon is continuing its full-scale deployment of Project Kuiper, a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network that will bring fast, reliable internet to customers and communities around the world. We recently opened a key piece of that infrastructure: a 100,000-square-foot payload processing facility at Kennedy Space Center that prepares satellites for their upcoming launches into orbit.
We have secured more than 80 launches to deploy our initial satellite constellation, using a combination of rockets from Arianespace, Blue Origin, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance (ULA). Most of those missions will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and having our own dedicated payload processing facility nearby means we can streamline satellite processing, integration, and encapsulation work, and move more quickly from the factory to the launch pad.
The facility was operational in time to support our first mission in April and subsequent launches with SpaceX and ULA, and we’ve already completed integration for our next launch on the manifest. At full capacity, the new site will be able to process more than 100 satellites per month and support three simultaneous launch campaigns, and construction is underway on a $19.5 million secondary support site that will help us move even faster.
“We’ve completed three missions in less than three months, and we’re continuing to pick up the pace as we prepare to begin delivering service to customers. Our facilities and team in Florida play a critical role in that process,” said Steve Metayer, vice president of production operations at Project Kuiper. “At full capacity, this building will house three dispenser systems stacked full of Kuiper satellites, and a combination of fairings from rockets like Atlas V, Vulcan, New Glenn, and Falcon 9. There’s nothing else like it on the Space Coast.”
From the factory to the launch pad
Project Kuiper opened a satellite production factory last year in Kirkland, Washington, that gives us the capacity to build up to five satellites per day at peak. Once satellites are built, tested, and cleared for launch, they’re safely transported across the country to our payload processing facility at Kennedy Space Center.
Upon arrival, satellites are moved into the processing bay. For any given satellite, Project Kuiper technicians remove the lid of the satellite container and move the satellite to the electrical checkout area, where its battery is charged and satellite health is verified. The satellite is then moved to a propellant loading bay, where krypton propellant is added to the onboard propulsion system—a critical design feature that allows us to operate safely through each phase of the mission.
From there, satellites are integrated with a multi-level dispenser system and moved into one of three encapsulation bays to be enclosed safely in the rocket fairing. The total number of satellites per dispenser varies based on the mission and capacity of the launch vehicle, but each mission will launch dozens of Kuiper satellites at a time.
Once satellites are safely encapsulated, the enclosed fairing exits through a 100-foot-tall high bay door to head to partner launch facilities, where it will be joined with the rest of the rocket in a vertical or horizontal integration facility.
Supporting jobs and economic development on the Space Coast
In addition to the primary processing facility, Project Kuiper is adding a facility to provide extra space to process and store flight hardware. Our total investment in the payload processing site will reach more than $140 million and has generated more than 130 jobs on the Space Coast since 2024. But the site is just one part of a broader investment in the region: Our launch contracts support thousands of jobs and suppliers across the U.S., and our joint investments with ULA are supporting infrastructure and service upgrades that benefit other commercial and government customers operating out of Cape Canaveral.
"There is no better place than Florida’s Space Coast to fulfill Kuiper’s promise to bring broadband to unserved and underserved across the nation and world," said Brian Huseman, Amazon's vice president for public policy and community engagement. "We are proud to make investments in Florida that will impact the local community and ultimately our customers. We look forward to our long-term partnership with Space Florida, NASA, Space Force, and state and local officials, as well as our launch providers and community partners."
