Amazon Leo gets approval for 4,504 extra satellites
February 11, 2026
The Amazon Leo satellite constellation, which is already permitted to launch more than 4,000 satellites into low Earth orbit (and is due to see 32 launched in addition to its existing roster on February 12th) has received Federal Communications Commission (FCC) permisssion to expand its fleet.
The FCC move is for Amazon Leo’s ‘second generation’ versions. The aim is to expand coverage overall and the ‘next-gen’ versions will use V-band and Ku-band frequencies and add the northern and southern polar regions to its coverage.
The FCC approval is for an extra 4,504 satellites which will bring the total to 7,736 craft in orbit. The FCC said Amazon must launch 50 per cent of the approved satellites by February 10th 2032 and the remaining half by February 10th 2035.
However, Amazon Leo is lobbying the FCC to defer the launch obligations on the first batch of 1,600 satellites which under existing obligations must be launched by July this year. Amazon Leo is arguing ‘force majeure’ and the lack of launch vehicles as the reason for the request. Amazon Leo is asking for a two-year delay (to July 2028) or to waive the obligation completely.
Leo is “producing satellites considerably faster than others can launch them,” the company told the FCC.
“Amazon Leo Gen 1 performance is impressive on its own, but lots to look forward to with Leo Gen 2: More capacity, more coverage (including polar) and additional throughput—good for customers everywhere, and especially important for big enterprise/gov customers who want max performance to move large amounts of data through our network,” commented Rajeev Badyal, Amazon’s VP for Leo.
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