VIPs cut the ribbon at Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellite factory

KIRKLAND, Wash. — Amazon gave U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell and other VIPs a peek at the company’s Project Kuiper satellite factory, where thousands of spacecraft are to be manufactured for a global broadband network.

Today’s festivities included remarks by state and local officials as well as a ribbon-cutting ceremony — but access to sensitive areas of the 172,000-square-foot facility was limited due to concerns about confidentiality and export control requirements.

The factory, which quietly began operations in April, serves as the manufacturing hub for Amazon’s satellite project. Work is also being done at Project Kuiper’s 219,000-square-foot headquarters in nearby Redmond.

Last year, the company successfully tested two Redmond-built prototype satellites in orbit. Now full-scale manufacturing is ramping up in Kirkland, with the first completed production satellites due to be shipped to Florida this summer.

Today’s festivities were marked by a spirit of neighborliness.

“On behalf of the City of Kirkland, I am grateful to Amazon for continuing to support our local economy,” Kirkland Mayor Kelli Curtis said in remarks prepared for today’s event. “Manufacturing satellites locally contributes significantly to our city’s economic growth and continues to open new doors of opportunity for those who call Kirkland home. We are grateful for Amazon’s partnership and focus on upskilling our workforce, and continuing to ensure Kirkland’s place in our regional space economy.”

Brian Huseman, Amazon’s vice president of public policy and community engagement, was grateful as well.

“We thank Senator Cantwell, Governor [Jay] Inslee, Mayor Curtis and other local leaders for their partnership, and share their commitment to closing the digital divide for all residents of the Evergreen State,” he said in his prepared remarks. “Project Kuiper is also creating an entirely new category of advanced manufacturing right here in Amazon’s home state. We’re proud to tap into the exceptional local talent pool.”

Amazon says more than 120 employees have already been hired to work at the factory, and the facility’s workforce is projected to grow to 200. Last month, Amazon said more than 2,000 employees are working on Project Kuiper at Puget Sound locations — mostly in Redmond, but also in Kirkland and Bellevue. Project Kuiper is also setting up a 184,000-square-foot logistics center in Everett, Wash., that’s expected to employ another 200 skilled technicians.

The first full-scale Kuiper mission is scheduled for launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in the fourth quarter of this year. Further deployments will follow, with launches provided by ULA, Blue Origin and SpaceX in Florida, plus Arianespace in French Guiana.

Amazon says it’s on track to begin offering broadband service to customers in 2025. Under the terms of Amazon’s license from the Federal Aviation Administration, half of the planned 3,232 satellites must be deployed by mid-2026, with the rest due to be placed into low Earth orbit by 2029.

Those are ambitious targets to hit — and to hit them, Amazon plans to ramp up operations in Kirkland to build up to five satellites per day. That’s close to the six-a-day pace that SpaceX says it can reach at its Starlink satellite manufacturing facility in Redmond, which is about a 20-minute drive away.

Starlink already has more than 6,000 satellites in orbit and more than 3 million subscribers around the globe. Yet another satellite operator, Eutelsat OneWeb, is building up its broadband network in league with an array of partners.

To close the gap, Amazon has enlisted its own league of partners, including Verizon in the U.S., Vodafone and Vodacom in Europe and Africa, NTT and SKY Perfect JSAT in Japan and Vrio Corp. in South America. They’re all depending on Project Kuiper to deliver new options for high-speed connectivity — and Steve Metayer, Project Kuiper’s vice president of production operations, voiced confidence that the newly opened Kirkland factory will do its part.

“Building advanced communications satellites at this scale is incredibly complex, and we want to ensure every Kuiper spacecraft meets our standards for performance, reliability, and safety,” he said. “The progress from the team is so impressive, and we now have the foundational pieces in place to ramp production ahead of a full-scale deployment. We can’t wait to get service to our customers as soon as possible.”

Check back later today for updates in this developing story.