Amazon Leo Satellite Connectivity signage is displayed during the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 6, 2026.
Patrick T. Fallon | Afp | Getty Images
The Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday it approved Amazon’s request to deploy 4,500 satellites, expanding the company’s planned constellation as it vies to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
The FCC’s approval brings the size of Amazon’s planned constellation of low Earth orbit satellites to roughly 7,700 satellites.
The company has sent up more than 150 satellites since April using a variety of rocket launch providers. Amazon has said its goal is to begin providing satellite internet through its service called Leo later this year. The project was announced in 2019.
Amazon’s next set of satellites are its second generation of the orbital systems and they will operate at altitudes of up to about 400 miles, according to the notice. The additional satellites would add support for more frequency bands and extend Leo’s geographic regions.
The FCC said Amazon must launch 50% of the approved satellites by Feb. 10, 2032 and the remaining half by Feb. 10, 2035.
Amazon is working to meet a separate deadline imposed by the FCC to deploy 1,600 of its first generation satellites before July 2026. Late last month, the company asked the agency to extend the cutoff to July 2028 or to waive the deadline altogether. The FCC hasn’t ruled yet on the request.
The company blamed delays beyond its control, including a near-term shortage of rockets to lift the satellites into orbit, on its likely inability to meet the deadline.
Leo is “producing satellites considerably faster than others can launch them,” the company wrote.
The company has invested $10 billion to stand up its internet-from-space service. Leo is poised to rival SpaceX’s Starlink, which has more than 9,000 satellites in orbit and roughly 9 million customers.
Amazon expects to spend $1 billion more on its Leo constellation this year as it deploys more satellites, the company said last week in its latest quarterly report. Amazon finance chief Brian Olsavsky said the company has more than 20 launches planned in 2026 and more than 30 in 2027.
The next Leo mission is set for Thursday, when an Arianespace rocket will fling another 32 satellites into orbit. Amazon has booked 17 other missions with the French company.