6 cool facts about Amazon’s drone delivery program

I’m the site lead at one of Amazon’s first drone delivery sites. Here are 6 cool facts about our operations in Texas.

Take a look behind the scenes at the Prime Air drone delivery facility in College Station, Texas.

I was in the Army for six years and I did two deployments to Afghanistan. I worked in warehouse logistics for my first deployment, then I oversaw the movement of personnel and cargo for my second. I had a lot of cool experiences in my work with the Army, including transporting air cargo via helicopter and working with a tight-knit team. After I had my son, I decided I wanted to put roots down, so I left the military and started school. I earned my bachelor's degree in logistics and transportation management in 2018, and I went on to earn my master's degree in management in 2021.

An image of Christina Carter in her military uniform standing for a photo on the front of a boat with the American flag in the background.

I held several leadership roles in logistics at other companies before Amazon reached out about a job in 2022. I’d actually written a few papers about Amazon’s logistics network for school, so it was kind of a dream job for me. I started as an area manager at a sort center just five miles down the road from my home in San Antonio, Texas, and I’m currently the site lead at the Prime Air facility in College Station, Texas.

An image of a drone facility employee showing a tour group the custom box design for drone deliveries. They are standing on the landing and launch pad for the drones in Texas.

I joined Prime Air in 2023 when we were really starting to ramp up the drone delivery program. It’s my job to oversee a team of employees who help the site make safe, fast, and convenient drone deliveries for customers in the area. It’s exciting to work at one of Amazon’s first drone delivery sites. I feel like I’m working in the future of logistics, and it’s amazing to see how far we’ve come and how far we’re going.

An employee loads a package into a delivery drone before it takes flight

Watch a drone delivery take flight in 18 photos from Amazon’s drone facility in Texas

Get an inside look at how Amazon’s drone delivery program works today—and how we’re innovating for a future of faster deliveries in more cities.

Want to learn more about Amazon’s drone delivery program? Here are six cool facts about our operations in College Station.

1.

Safety is the #1 priority

My military experience taught me to be hypervigilant when it comes to safety, and that’s definitely something I continue to practice at Prime Air. We run thorough safety checks on the equipment and airspace conditions, and the team is empowered to stop operations at any point if something isn’t right.

I’ve had to make the call to pause operations due to high wind conditions on a particularly stormy day, and we coordinate with other aircraft operators like the local hospital life flight program to keep the skies clear when they need them.
2.

We run the entire fulfillment and delivery process from one site

Most Amazon orders will make their way through a few different facilities before they’re delivered to your doorstep. Drone deliveries are a bit different. Our site in College Station has a fulfillment center where we store thousands of items, as well as a launch pad where we load and send orders out for delivery.

Drone deliveries will integrate with Amazon’s Same Day facility network in 2024 to help us move even faster and more efficiently, and the process will remain largely under one roof.
3.

Our goal is to deliver in 60 minutes or less

My favorite part of my job is seeing how quickly we get orders to customers. It’s a huge thing to be able to deliver within 60 minutes. Our fastest delivery in the last three months of year was a was a box of Annie’s Cocoa and Vanilla Bunny Cookies that was delivered in 15 minutes and 29 seconds.
4.

Batteries are the most popular item at our facility

Our drones can deliver items that weigh up to five pounds. Popular items that fly off our shelves are everyday essentials like batteries, toothbrushes, and beauty products. One of the heaviest items I’ve seen us deliver was a huge tub of antibacterial hand soap.
5.

We have onsite drone maintenance to keep operations running safely and smoothly

Our safety checks include an in-depth inspection of each drone before every flight. If the employee notices any issues during this check, we will bring the drone in for maintenance and swap it out for another that passes the safety inspection. We perform most of our maintenance onsite, and we have a fleet of drones at the ready to keep delivering for customers safely.
6.

We’re introducing a new drone that’s faster, lighter, and quieter

This year will bring some big changes to the drone program. My team is particularly excited about the arrival of the new MK30 drone, which will be faster, lighter, and quieter than our current model. The drone will be able to travel twice as far as the current model, which means we’ll be able to reach more customers. I’m really excited to give more people the opportunity to experience drone delivery. I actually live just outside of the range where the current drone model can deliver, so I personally can’t wait for the new model that will be able to deliver to my home.
These are just some of the many things that make Prime Air an exciting place to work. We’re helping shape the future of delivery, and I can’t wait to look back and say I was on one of the first teams to make drone delivery a reality.