Amazon to expand Cape Canaveral facilities for future Project Kuiper satellite constellation
Amazon is building a bigger complex at NASA's Kennedy Space Center to process broadband satellites for its future $10 billion Project Kuiper internet constellation, company officials announced Thursday.
The e-commerce giant will invest another $19.5 million by adding a 42,000-square-foot flight hardware building to its facility under construction at the Launch and Landing Facility. This $120 million, 100,000-square-foot processing plant — which stands about 120 feet tall — will prep Project Kuiper’s 3,232 satellites for launch from the Cape.
The project cost rises to $140 million with Thursday's announcement. More than 2,000 Amazon employees are working on Project Kuiper, which company officials hope will begin delivering service to customers in 2025 "to bring fast, affordable broadband to unserved and underserved communities around the world." Dozens of Blue Origin, SpaceX and United Launch Alliance rockets will lift the satellites into low-Earth orbit.
Project Kuiper has competition already in the skies with SpaceX's Starlink internet satellite constellation. SpaceX has thousands of Starlink satellites in orbit thanks to its routine schedule of Falcon 9 launches from the Space Coast and California. Its been launching them since 2019.
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"I am thrilled that Amazon has chosen to deepen its investment in Project Kuiper at Space Florida's Launch and Landing Facility,” Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nu?ez, who chairs the Space Florida board of directors, said in a press release. “This decision is a clear indicator of Florida's unbeatable location and world-class infrastructure."
"Through this partnership, we will continue to assert our leadership in the global space economy," Nu?ez said.
Amazon expansion to bring more jobs to Cape
Brian Huseman, Amazon vice president of public policy and community engagement, will deliver a Project Kuiper keynote speech Friday morning during the Space Coast Symposium at the Astronauts Memorial Foundation at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
Huseman previously visited the Space Coast in May and delivered a speech outlining Project Kuiper details during a National Space Club Florida Committee luncheon in Cape Canaveral.
During that speech, he said Amazon planned to hire 50 full-time employees at KSC with average salaries of at least $80,000, including skilled workers, logistics personnel, mission managers and engineers. The new $19.5 million building will create more full-time job opportunities, Thursday's news release said.
At adjacent Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Amazon is investing in infrastructure and service upgrades at ULA's second vertical integration facility, or VIF, at Launch Complex 41 for future Project Kuiper launches using Vulcan rockets. Construction is targeted for completion during the first quarter of 2025, and the upgraded VIF will let ULA crews to prepare for two missions at once using dual launch lanes.
"We are excited to expand our operations at the Kennedy Space Center with this new facility," Steve Metayer, vice president of Project Kuiper production operations, said in Thursday's press release.
"This investment underscores our commitment to Project Kuiper as we work towards providing high-speed, low-latency broadband internet to communities around the world. We’re proud of our continued partnership with Space Florida, and look forward to adding more talent to our team at Cape Canaveral," Metayer said.
Space Florida previously referred to Amazon's Project Kuiper complex at KSC in public documents and meetings as the secretive "Project Comet."
"Amazon's additional investment in the Project Kuiper facility is just another example of the value of the long-term partnerships we forge with our industry partners,” Space Florida President and CEO Rob Long said in the press release.
“Not only are we here to support their initial activities within the expanding Florida aerospace ecosystem, but we remain by their side and ready to meet their needs as they grow. It’s great to see how far this project has come and I look forward to deepening our strong partnership with Amazon as they broaden global commercial satellite communications availability,” Long said.
For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space.
Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at [email protected]. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Amazon building bigger satellite complex at NASA's Kennedy Space Center
