The three agreements include 38 launches on ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket, 18 launches on Arianespace’s Ariane 6, and 12 launches on Blue Origin’s New Glenn, with options for 15 additional launches. Collectively, they represent the largest commercial procurement of space launch services in history, demonstrating the swift growth of the private space industry. As of Jan. 1, 2022, there were only 4,852 operating satellites in space, including 4,078 in low Earth orbit (LEO). The Project Kuiper LEO satellite system, announced in 2019, aims to provide fast, affordable broadband to customers globally.
