Amazon has renamed its satellite internet program from Project Kuiper to Amazon Leo, as the company continues building a low Earth orbit network intended to bring high-speed connectivity to underserved regions.
There are now over 150 Amazon Leo satellites in orbit and the company is preparing customer hardware that supports gigabit speeds across Apple Home, Google Home, and other platforms. Early partners already include JetBlue, DIRECTV Latin America, Sky Brasil, L3Harris, and Australia’s NBN Co. The company plans to expand its constellation through dozens of additional launches ahead of its commercial rollout.
Amazon Leo is the company’s rival to SpaceX’s Starlink, which as of now, is the major leader of low-Earth orbit satellite internet, surpassing 8 million users globally (and 500,000 in Canada alone).
Blue Origin—also founded by Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos—hit a major milestone today, when its New Glenn rocket completed its second orbital mission from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The rocket carried NASA’s ESCAPADE twin probes, which successfully deployed about 30 minutes after liftoff and are now on their way to Mars for a 2026 arrival to study the planet’s upper atmosphere.
In a landmark achievement that echoes SpaceX’s pioneering feat nine years ago—when Elon Musk’s team revolutionized rocketry by becoming the first to land and recover an orbital-class booster on an ocean drone ship—Blue Origin has now joined the elite club.
Today, New Glenn’s seven BE-4-powered first stage executed a flawless powered descent and touchdown on the Atlantic drone ship Jacqueline, cementing Blue Origin as only the second U.S. company to master reusable sea recoveries and paving the way for more affordable, high-cadence launches to orbit.
Musk replied today, “Congratulations @JeffBezos and the @BlueOrigin team!”. A little competition will prove wonders for this next-generation space race, with an eventual goal to reach Mars.
The clean flight strengthens Blue Origin’s position in the commercial launch market, especially as it eyes future missions for customers like AST SpaceMobile.
Want to see more of our stories on Google?
P.S. Want to keep this site truly independent? Support us by buying us a beer, treating us to a coffee, or shopping through Amazon here. Links in this post are affiliate links, so we earn a tiny commission at no charge to you. Thanks for supporting independent Canadian media!
