SpaceTRC / Space Age / Mega-constellations
Global internet from thousands of satellites.
Instead of a few giant satellites, thousands of small ones: mega-constellations aim to bring low-latency internet everywhere from low Earth orbit. This page compares Starlink and Amazon Leo and explains the orbital physics with an interactive calculator.
- Starlink launched
- 13,000+23 October 2026
- Amazon Leo launched
- ≈400July 2026: 396 production satellites
- Amazon Leo target
- 3,236First generation, 98 orbital planes
- Blue Origin TeraWave
- 5,000+Announced 2026
01 / Physics
Why low Earth orbit?
Traditional internet satellites sit in geostationary orbit at 35,786 km. Even light loses time there: user to satellite to ground station and back is about 144,000 km, a minimum delay of about 480 milliseconds from physics alone. With a satellite at 550 km the same path is about 2,200 km, and the physical floor drops below 10 milliseconds.
Low latency, high capacity
Latency-sensitive uses such as video calls, gaming and finance work almost like a terrestrial link. Inter-satellite laser links can also carry data through space.
You need a lot of satellites
A low satellite crosses the sky in minutes and sees a smaller area. Continuous coverage needs thousands of satellites and constant replacement, since drag pulls them down within a few years.
02 / Interactive
Orbit calculator: what does altitude change?
Move the slider. The calculator gives orbital speed, period, the minimum light-time latency and the area one satellite covers, assuming users need to see it at least 25° above the horizon.
Model: spherical Earth (R = 6,378.137 km), circular orbit, μ = 398,600.4418 km³/s². Latency is only the light time user → satellite → ground station and back with the satellite overhead; real networks add routing and processing. The “theoretical minimum” divides Earth’s surface by one satellite’s footprint; real networks need far more because of overlap, capacity and orbital-plane geometry.
03 / Comparison
Starlink and Amazon Leo side by side
| Starlink | Amazon Leo | |
|---|---|---|
| Operator | SpaceX | Amazon (Kuiper Systems) |
| Former name | — | Project Kuiper (renamed November 2025) |
| First production satellites | May 2019 | April 2025 |
| Satellites launched | 13,000+ (October 2026) | ≈400 (July 2026: 396) |
| Altitude | ≈340–570 km | Three shells at 590, 610 and 630 km |
| Launchers | Own rockets: Falcon 9, Starship | ULA (Atlas V, Vulcan), Arianespace (Ariane 6), Blue Origin (New Glenn), SpaceX (Falcon 9) |
| User terminals | Standard and Mini dishes | Leo Nano (up to 100 Mbps), Leo Pro (up to 400 Mbps), Leo Ultra (1 Gbps down / 400 Mbps up) |
| Service | Commercial service in more than 100 countries | Amazon targets service launch in 2026 |
Terminal speeds are the companies' stated maximums; real speeds depend on location, load and weather.
04 / Amazon Leo
Amazon Leo's 2026
Amazon spreads its launches across four providers to avoid depending on one company; it has bought 92 launches worth more than 10 billion dollars.
- Extension request
Amazon asked the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to extend its July 2026 deadline, which required half the constellation, 1,618 satellites, in orbit.
- First Ariane 6 mission
The four-booster Ariane 64 flew for the first time with 32 Leo satellites.
- Two Atlas V missions and a Globalstar deal
Atlas V missions carried 29 satellites each. Amazon also announced plans to acquire Globalstar, expected to close in 2027.
- FCC flexibility and an Ariane 6 record
The FCC waived the July 2026 requirement. On 17 June an upgraded Ariane 64 carried 36 satellites, the largest Leo batch yet.
- Final Atlas V and South Africa deal
The nine-mission Atlas V contract was completed, and an agreement with Herotel was signed for service in South Africa.
- 40 satellites on Vulcan
ULA announced Vulcan's mid-November return to flight carrying 40 Amazon Leo satellites.
05 / Other networks
The race in orbit widens
Eutelsat OneWeb
Fewer satellites than Starlink but higher, at about 1,200 km, serving mainly enterprise and government customers.
Guowang and Qianfan
China's two large constellations would, according to filings, comprise tens of thousands of satellites. Deployment began in 2024–2025.
Blue Origin TeraWave
Announced in January 2026, with more than 5,000 low-orbit satellites and 128 medium-orbit optical relays.
AST SpaceMobile
BlueBird satellites with huge antennas that connect directly to ordinary phones. One was left in the wrong orbit on the April 2026 New Glenn flight.
06 / Issues
The cost of a crowded orbit
Light pollution
Satellites reflecting sunlight after sunset leave streaks in wide-field telescope images. The International Astronomical Union set up a centre to protect the dark and quiet sky.
Collision risk
More satellites mean more avoidance manoeuvres. An uncontrolled collision cascade, the "Kessler syndrome", is the most feared long-term scenario.
Spectrum and atmosphere
Radio spectrum and orbital slots are a limited shared resource, and the effect of thousands of satellites burning up in the upper atmosphere is under study.