Today Amazon announced its new home internet service will build a new center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. This $120 million facility will create up to 50 new jobs.
This is all a part of Amazon’s plan to offer cheap high-speed internet worldwide thanks to its Project Kuiper program.
Amazon says they will start building the new satellites needed to offer high-speed internet in Kirkland, Washington, by the end of the year. This new satellite-processing facility in Florida will be used to receive these shipments and prepare them for launch.
The 100,000-square-foot facility features a 100-foot tall high bay clean room to allow room for the payload fairing of new heavy-lift rockets like Blue Origin’s New Glenn and ULA’s Vulcan Centaur.
“We have an ambitious plan to begin Project Kuiper’s full-scale production launches and early customer pilots next year, and this new facility will play a critical role in helping us deliver on that timeline,” said Steve Metayer, vice president of Kuiper Production Operations. “We are proud to partner with Space Florida to bolster the growing space industry in Florida and elsewhere across the United States, and we look forward to adding more talent to our skilled operations and manufacturing team. These employees will play an important part in our mission to connect tens of millions of customers worldwide.”
“We are proud to continue our investment in Florida and to join the historic Space Coast community as we invest in people and facilities to support Project Kuiper, Amazon’s satellite broadband network,” said Brian Huseman, vice president of public policy and community engagement at Amazon. “We are grateful to Governor DeSantis and his administration, as well as our regional partners, for investing in infrastructure, training a highly skilled workforce, and maintaining an economic climate that allows Project Kuiper to advance our mission of providing internet access to unserved and underserved communities around the world.”
“Adding Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellite payload processing facility to the region’s growing industrial capability in commercial space is a testament to the power of building a statewide ecosystem that supports companies across the entire aerospace supply chain. Space Florida has invested in bringing together unrivaled experience, unmatched financial tools, and an unbeatable location to offer companies opportunities for sustainable, long-term growth. Since the early days of rocket launches and payload processing, decades of infrastructure and capital investment has been made, transforming Florida into a global center for the aerospace economy. We couldn’t be more thrilled that Project Kuiper chose Space Florida’s Launch and Landing Facility for this facility, and we look forward to being a part of their mission of global connectivity,” said Frank DiBello, president and CEO, Space Florida.
Amazon says they will conduct the first test launches of their new satellites in the coming months. Amazon hopes to start production launches in early 2024, along with early enterprise customer tests.
Amazon has in the past said it plans to start offering home internet in select areas in 2025.