Brevard Space Coast Launch Sites Rockets SpaceX ULA NASA
A quick look at which rockets will lift off from the various launch sites in Brevard.
Amazon is building a major broadband satellite processing complex at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center 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 40,000-square-foot flight hardware building to its facility under construction at the Launch and Landing Facility. This $110 million, 100,000-square-foot, 120-foot-tall processing facility will prepare Project Kuiper’s 3,232 satellites for launch from the Cape.
The project’s cost rises to $140 million with Thursday’s announcement. More than 2,000 Amazon employees are working on Project Kuiper, which company executives hope will begin offering service to customers in 2025 “to bring fast, affordable broadband to unserved and underserved communities around the world.” Dozens of rockets from Blue Origin, SpaceX and United Launch Alliance will launch the satellites into low Earth orbit.
The Kuiper Project already has competition in the sky from SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellite constellation. SpaceX has thousands of Starlink satellites in orbit thanks to its routine Falcon 9 launch schedule from the Space Coast and California. They have been launching 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,” said Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez, who chairs Space Florida’s board of directors, in a press release. “This decision is a clear indication of Florida’s unbeatable location and world-class infrastructure.”
“Through this partnership, we will continue to assert our leadership in the global space economy,” said Nuñez.
Amazon expansion brings more jobs to Cape Canaveral
Brian Huseman, Amazon vice president of public policy and community engagement, will deliver a keynote address on Project Kuiper Friday morning during the Space Coast Symposium at the Astronauts Memorial Foundation in the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
Huseman had already visited the Space Coast in May and delivered a speech at a National Space Club Florida committee luncheon in Cape Canaveral, outlining details of Project Kuiper.
In his speech, he said Amazon plans to hire 50 full-time employees at KSC with an average salary of at least $80,000, including skilled laborers, logistics personnel, mission managers and engineers. The new $19.5 million building will create additional full-time jobs, the press release said Thursday.
At the neighboring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Amazon is investing in infrastructure and service upgrades at ULA’s second vertical integration facility (VIF) at Launch Complex 41 for future Project Kuiper launches using Vulcan rockets. Construction is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2025. The modernized VIF will allow ULA crews to prepare for two missions simultaneously by utilizing two launch runways.
“We are excited to expand our operations at Kennedy Space Center with this new facility,” said Steve Metayer, vice president of production operations for Project Kuiper, in a press release Thursday.
“This investment underscores our commitment to Project Kuiper as we work to deliver high-speed, low-latency broadband internet to communities around the world. We are proud of our continued partnership with Space Florida and look forward to adding additional talent to our team at Cape Canaveral,” said Metayer.
Space Florida had previously referred to Amazon’s Project Kuiper complex at KSC as the secret “Project Comet” in public documents and meetings.
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 for FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at [email protected]Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
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