Amazon’s Project Kuiper Satellite Business May Cost $20 Billion

A new report says Amazon's Project Kuiper may have a far steeper price tag than originally thought, coming in at $20 billion when all is said and done....
Amazon’s Project Kuiper Satellite Business May Cost $20 Billion
Written by Matt Milano
  • A new report says Amazon’s Project Kuiper may have a far steeper price tag than originally thought, coming in at $20 billion when all is said and done.

    Project Kuiper is Amazon’s answer to SpaceX’s Starlink. The satellite constellation will provide high-speed internet access to communities around the world. Currently, Project Kuiper is far behind Starlink, with Amazon only recently launching three prototype satellites in late 2023.

    According to a report by Quilty Space, via GeekWire, it appears the bill for Amazon’s space ambitions may be much higher than the $10 billion company executives cited four years ago. With the goal of deploying 3,232 satellites, Project Kuiper could cost Amazon as much as $20 billion.

    As GeekWire points out, however, Quilty Space believes the ultimate payoff could be well worth the additional investment.

    “If Amazon can reach 100 million [subscriptions] at an average monthly ARPU of $30, Kuiper would generate $36B in annual revenues, rivaling Amazon’s current subscription revenues,” the report says.

    Amazon has been pouring money into Project Kuiper, building a $120 million building at Kennedy Space Center. The building serves as a satellite payload processing facility for the company.

    Amazon also announced the construction of a secondary building at Kennedy Space Center for $19.5 million. The secondary building will provide additional space for staging.

    This 42,000-square-foot building will provide additional space to process and store flight hardware ahead of launch, allowing for a regular cadence of missions to deploy Project Kuiper’s 3,232-satellite constellation. The expansion will be adjacent to the existing 100,000-square-foot structure at the satellite processing facility. It is another example of Amazon’s partnership with Space Florida and growing commitment to the state’s space economy.

    Amazon is clearly invested in Project Kuiper for the long haul and, as Quilty Space notes, the potential payoff could easily outshine any additional investment costs.

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