Amazon Leo is preparing for its largest single launch to date on the back of a recent order from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granting a conditional waiver to the company regarding its upcoming regulatory deployment milestone required under its licence.
Under its initial authorisation, the network was required to have 50% of its non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) fleet, consisting of 1,616 satellites, operational by 30 July 2026. At the time of its regulatory modification application, Amazon Leo reported 180 satellites in orbit and estimated it would reach approximately 700 operational spacecraft by the deadline, representing roughly 21% of its total authorised constellation of 3,232 Gen1 satellites.
The FCC earlier this year approved the deployment of two new systems, Gen2 and Polar, alongside the previously authorised Gen1 constellation, taking the total number of planned satellites to 7,736.
Rather than granting a requested 24-month extension for the upcoming Gen1 milestone, the FCC has issued a limited waiver on its own motion to prevent the automatic termination of the licence for undeployed satellites. This decision ensures the constellation is not permanently capped at its July 2026 numbers, allowing the operator to work toward its final 100% deployment milestone on 30 July 2029.
The FCC has attached strict conditions to the waiver. Satellites launched after the July 2026 deadline will temporarily lose their processing round spectrum priority status, with this demotion to last for 20 months, until 30 March 2028, or until Amazon Leo deploys 50% of its constellation, whichever occurs first.
The company can shorten this penalty period to 15 months by certifying that it has manufactured the necessary satellites and secured sufficient launch capacity. Additionally, the regulatory body has declined to waive financial security obligations, meaning the company must forfeit its surety bond to the US Treasury for missing the initial timeline.
The FCC also noted that keeping the final 2029 deadline intact allows the operator to focus its capital on full build-out rather than repeated interim filings. Amazon Leo has committed more than US$10 billion to the system, alongside scaling its manufacturing capabilities to 30 satellites per week.
With the waiver in place, Amazon is targeting 17 June for its next satellite deployment mission, Leo Europe 3 (LE-03), from French Guiana. The mission will utilise an Ariane 6 rocket equipped with upgraded P160C solid boosters and an enhanced dispenser stack to enable it to carry 36 satellites – the largest payload launched to date for Amazon Leo, carrying four more spacecraft than the 32 deployed on each of the previous two Ariane 6 missions.
The launch will mark 100 Amazon Leo satellites launched by Arianespace, completing three missions in less than five months if all goes as planned.
