Amazon Boosts LEO Satellite Internet Fleet to 396 to Take On SpaceX Starlink

Amazon just put another 29 Leo satellites into orbit for its high-speed internet network, wrapping up its Atlas V launch campaign in the process. The batch went up on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket out of Cape Canaveral, Florida, on July 2.

The mission was called LA-08, and it’s Amazon’s 14th successful deployment since the company started ramping up its network. That brings the total to 396 Amazon Leo satellites in low Earth orbit. Now that the Atlas V program is done, Amazon is moving over to ULA’s next-gen Vulcan rocket, which can haul bigger payloads and speed up the schedule before service starts rolling out later this year.

Amazon’s network is now the third-largest constellation in orbit, but there’s still a huge gap between it and the runaway leader, SpaceX’s Starlink.

SpaceX got a big head start when it launched its first operational batch of Starlink satellites back in 2019. Between that early jump and a fast launch pace on its own reusable Falcon 9 rockets, SpaceX has more than 10,700 active satellites up there and serves millions of subscribers around the world. Amazon still has a lot of work to do to catch up, but competition is a great thing for consumers.

Amazon didn’t kick off its full-scale deployment until April 2025. It’s trailing Starlink by more than 10,000 satellites right now, but the company has lined up over 100 future launches with a mix of aerospace partners, including ULA, Arianespace and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, to scale things up over the next few years. Amazon figures it’ll start its initial service rollout later this year, leaning on the new heavy-lift Vulcan rocket to pick up the pace. With Amazon Leo set to be a direct to consumer internet service, it will allow subscribers to bypass traditional telecom incumbents to get online.