Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Takes on Elon Musk’s Starlink with New Satellite Network
In Focus
- Blue Origin is launching the TeraWave satellite network
- TeraWave network will offer internet connectivity to enterprises and data centers
- The company plans to launch 5,408 satellites into space in Q4 of 2027
- The satellites will be launched on both medium and low Earth orbits
Blue Origin, the space venture owned by Jeff Bezos, plans to launch 5,408 satellites into space to create a new communications network. According to CNBC, the new TeraWave network will provide Blue Origin satellite internet connectivity to enterprises, government agencies, and data centers.
Satellite Deployment to Commence in 2027
Blue Origin said deployment of the satellite constellation will likely start in the fourth quarter of 2027. According to the company, the satellites will be positioned in the medium and low Earth orbits. These space regions are between 100 and 21,000 miles from the Earth’s surface.
The Bezos-owned space venture plans to launch satellites in medium Earth orbit at a time when Elon Musk’s Starlink plans to undertake an orbit change. Recently, Starlink announced plans to lower all its satellites from 550 km to 480 km in 2026 in a bid to boost space safety.
The space firm said the TeraWave satellite network will offer data speeds of up to 6 terabits per second. These speeds are capable of facilitating movement of huge data volumes faster compared to rival services like SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Leo project.
Competition in Satellite Internet Intensifies
Blue Origin is joining the competitive satellite internet market, which is currently dominated by Starlink. Operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Starlink has over 9,000 satellites in orbit and a customer base of about 9 million users.
Blue Origin will also be competing with Amazon’s Leo satellite network, which the company rebranded after retiring Project Kuiper. The internet service promotes seamless video calls and supports 4K video streaming for household and enterprise use.
Since April 2025, Amazon has launched 180 satellites to low Earth orbit through support from SpaceX and United Launch Alliance. As satellite competition between Bezos’ space venture and SpaceX heats up, Blue Origin is expected to handle future satellite deployments for Amazon.
The company, which was also founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994, plans to grow its satellite constellation in space to 3,236 to service governments, enterprises, and individual consumers.
Blue Origin’s Future Outlook
Bezos expects his space venture to surpass Amazon in size. Founded in 2000, Blue Origin is a rocket launch firm that takes researchers and tourists on short space trips. In early 2025, the company launched New Glenn, a towering rocket for the first time.
At the time, the company failed to land New Glenn’s rocket booster. However, Blue Origin succeeded in landing the rocket booster in November after successfully launching NASA spacecrafts.
The Bezos-owned space venture will have to take on Chinese firms in the global internet race. These include SpaceSail, a Shanghai-based satellite internet firm that is targeting the Brazilian and Kazakhstan markets.
