Amazon has launched itself into orbit with Project Kuiper, its venture into the satellite broadband network industry. On April 28, the company launched 27 of its planned 3,236 satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO) aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. This marks the KA-01 mission at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The project started its developmental stages in 2018 and was granted by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license to deploy and operate its satellites in July 2020. The satellites, which was the heaviest payload ULA’s Atlas V rocket has ever flown, were launched to operate between 367 and 392 miles above Earth.
KA-01 is just one of the multiple launch missions of Amazon for Project Kuiper. The company has booked more than 80 rocket launches with four different partners. These include the French commercial space launch provider, Arianespace; SpaceX, parent company of the satellite internet provider Starlink; and Blue Origin, the spaceflight company founded by Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos.
Project Kuiper: An overview
In 2019, Amazon officially unveils its $10 billion-worth plans to deliver broadband internet service by launching thousands of satellites into space. These satellites will beam high-speed, low-latency internet to ground terminals, targeting areas that lack reliable connectivity.
Unlike traditional geostationary satellites, LEO satellites significantly reduce signal delay, making them ideal for real-time activities like video conferencing, gaming, and cloud computing. The project itself consists of three major components:
- Ground Network Infrastructure – This includes gateway stations, uplink facilities, and integration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to route, manage, and secure data traffic between Earth and the satellite constellation.
- The Satellites – Thousands of interconnected LEO satellites equipped with onboard processing, inter-satellite laser links (ISLs), and phased-array antennas to form a resilient mesh network in space.
- User Terminals – Compact, cost-effective devices capable of dynamic beam steering to maintain connectivity with rapidly moving satellites.
In this article, we explore Amazon’s space-related patent filings and how they support the goals of Project Kuiper.
Amazon’s Space Tech: Patenting Activity
Amazon’s patenting activity in space technology has steadily increased from 2018, aligning with the start of Project Kuiper’s research and development. Filings peaked in 2020 when they consequently obtained FCC license for satellite deployment and operation. From 2021 to 2023, the company maintained a steady stream of filings, which likely reflects coordinated efforts across its legal, engineering, and business teams to secure the foundational intellectual property for Kuiper before large-scale hardware deployment began.
A significant decrease is notable in 2024 up to date. This may be attributed to Amazon’s focus shift on deploying the satellites for Project Kuiper, since FCC imposes a deadline for the company to launch half of their satellites by July 2026.
Amazon’s Space Tech: Top Legal Representatives
With the extensive patent activity of Amazon in the past decade, they also possess a massive network with law firms in IP. Our analysis shows that Lindauer Law PLLC handled 17 patent filings followed by Lowenstein Sandler LLP and Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP. These firms are among Amazon’s most frequently engaged legal representatives in space-related patent filings, indicating the company’s structured approach to securing intellectual property in emerging technologies.
Amazon’s Space Tech: Top Technology Areas
Amazon’s space technology patents are concentrated on transmission systems (H04B), highlighting a strong emphasis on satellite signal delivery. Other key areas include radio direction-finding (G01S) and wireless communication networks (H04W), which are critical for accurate satellite positioning and network connectivity. Notably, patents under digital data processing (G06F) and cosmonautics (B64G) reflect efforts in onboard computing and spacecraft control systems.
Small in numbers but a significant group of patents also fall under transmission of digital information (H04L), antennas (H01Q) and traffic control system (G08G) classes. These are also essential in maintaining reliable data flow in the LEO environment. These diverse classifications highlight Amazon’s commitment to building a robust and resilient global broadband network through Project Kuiper.
Amazon’s space tech patents
With Amazon’s vast patent portfolio, the following key patents (and patent application) surrounding Project Kuiper reflect a calculated effort to protect and commercialize its technological innovations.
Integration with Amazon Web Service
Satellite operators often face high costs and logistical challenges when building or leasing ground stations to communicate with their satellites. These stations require not just antennas, but also nearby computing and storage infrastructure to process and store incoming data.
U.S. Patent No. 11,063,658, titled “Satellite antenna ground station service system”, outlines a “Ground Station as a Service” system that lets clients reserve satellite antenna time-slots through a cloud-based platform. These antennas are connected to nearby AWS data centers, allowing users to quickly downlink data and access cloud services like computing, storage, and analytics. The system is elastic and scalable, enabling users to pay only for the access they need, when they need it.
Project Kuiper uses this approach by linking its gateway antennas directly to AWS regions through dedicated fiber connections. This allows fast, low-latency data transmission from its satellites and supports large-scale satellite operations using powerful cloud infrastructure for real-time processing and global internet delivery.
The ‘658 patent was filed on June 28,2018, and was granted on July 13,2021. The patent filing was represented by Jeffrey Hood, Robert Kowert, et al from Kowert, Hood, Munyon, Rankin & Goetzel, P.C. The listed inventors are Lowell Shayn Hawthorne and David M. Nolton.
Mesh network for space-based CDN
Traditional content delivery networks (CDNs) rely on ground-based infrastructure to cache and deliver content, but they struggle to serve users in remote or space environments due to latency, limited connectivity, and centralized processing. Users such as astronauts, satellites in orbit, or people in isolated areas face delays and reduced performance when retrieving or processing data.
U.S. Patent No. 11,201,939, titled “Content and compute delivery platform using satellites”, describes a space-based CDN and compute delivery platform built on a mesh network of satellites, each equipped with compute and storage capabilities.
These satellites act as edge nodes, capable of processing data requests using onboard rule engines, caching content, and even running small workflows like compression algorithms, reducing reliance on ground stations. The system improves performance by minimizing round-trip communication time, dynamically updating compute logic from the ground, and enabling satellites to serve content directly to users or peer satellites.
This aligns with Project Kuiper VP Rajeev Badyal’s comment that Kuiper’s satellites will form a space-based mesh network using optical links. This setup lets satellites talk to each other directly, making data delivery faster, smarter, and more reliable especially in remote or space-based settings.
The patent filing was represented by Michael Jaro, Cynthia Faatz, Scott Hayden, et al from Nicholson De Vos Webster & Elliott, LLP. The patent was filed on June 28, 2019, and was granted on December 14, 2021. The inventors are Ronil Sudhir Mokashi, Prashant Verma, and Karthik Uthaman.
Smarter calibration for high-speed space antennas
Phased array antennas used in systems like Project Kuiper to beam signals at high speeds of up to 400 Mbps can lose calibration over time in space. Traditional calibration methods place antennas inside the array, which can disrupt signal performance, increase design complexity, and limit overall efficiency.
U.S. Patent No. 11,462,828, titled “Peripheral antenna placement for calibration for a phased array antenna” proposes placing directional calibration antennas at the periphery of the phased array, within its near field. This setup allows precise in-orbit calibration by collecting signal data without interfering with the array’s internal design. By keeping calibration components outside the active antenna grid, the solution maintains array uniformity, reduces manufacturing complexity, and supports long-term performance in space.
The ‘828 patent was filed on November 13, 2020, and was granted on October 4, 2022. The inventors are Tara Yousefi, Iyappan Ramachandran, Murat Veysoglu, Peter James Hetzel, Billy Pingli Kao, and Alireza Mahanfar. Amazon was represented by Daniel Sierchio, David Toma, Kevin Grange, et al from Lowenstein Sandler LLP.
