At Amazon, a satellite is no longer a one-off space project: it is something that has to roll off the line again and again. In Kirkland, the company builds machines with antennas, solar panels and small thrusters. Together, they are intended to bring internet to places lacking a good connection.
The network is called Amazon Leo, formerly Project Kuiper. It will use thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit. Its factory is as important as the rocket: without a steady supply of spacecraft, there is little to launch.
A satellite receives and transmits data, connects to ground stations and passes information to other satellites through optical links. Solar panels supply power, while thrusters adjust its orbit. It is a self-contained internet node moving through space.
Customers connect using a compact antenna on the ground. Ground stations link the satellite network to internet infrastructure on Earth. The aim is to make broadband available beyond the reach of ordinary networks.
According to Amazon’s factory report of 8 October, Kirkland has built more than 1,000 satellites. Before its first full-scale mission, the team made three or four a month; Amazon now says it makes at least that many a day. Capacity is five per day.
That requires repeatable precision. Each satellite must survive launch vibrations and then work for years without a nearby technician. Testing and feeding improvements back into production are therefore part of the process.
Completed satellites travel in special containers to the launch site. Several are stacked on a dispenser, the structure that releases them in space. Amazon shows preparations for both Vulcan and Ariane 6.
The impressive engineering extends well beyond launch. A global connection starts with a factory able to build, test and ship spacecraft repeatedly. The satellites must then reach orbit and take their place in the network.
