内容来源：https://www.geekwire.com/2026/amazon-leo-fcc-extension-request/

内容总结：

亚马逊公司近日向美国联邦通信委员会（FCC）提交申请，请求将其低轨宽带互联网卫星项目“亚马逊利奥”的部署期限延长两年。根据申请文件，亚马逊希望将原定于2026年7月30日前发射半数卫星（即1616颗）的截止时间推迟至2028年7月30日，但承诺仍将在2029年年中前完成全部3232颗卫星的部署。

该公司在申请中解释称，尽管已投入超100亿美元并预定了超过100次发射任务，但近期面临“短期发射资源短缺”问题。短缺原因包括火箭制造环节中断、新型运载火箭试飞失败及停飞、发射场容量限制等。此外，2023年原型卫星测试任务虽验证了总体设计，却因需改进性能与可靠性而重新调整工程方案，导致大规模生产推迟约九个月。

受发射进度影响，亚马逊已放缓其位于华盛顿州柯克兰的卫星工厂生产节奏。该公司表示，工厂实际具备每周生产30颗卫星的年产能力，目前仅生产了数百颗合格卫星。截至今年7月底，预计将有700颗卫星进入轨道，并开始向企业和政府客户提供终端设备，为全球服务推广做准备。

目前，亚马逊已通过联合发射联盟的“宇宙神5号”和SpaceX的“猎鹰9号”火箭将180颗生产级卫星送入轨道，并计划在未来数月启用“火神”和“阿丽亚娜6号”重型火箭。该公司还透露，除已执行的3次发射外，额外预定了10次“猎鹰9号”发射任务，并签约了24次蓝色起源公司“新格伦”火箭的发射。

此次延期申请正值卫星互联网市场竞争加剧之际。SpaceX的“星链”网络已部署超9000颗卫星，服务逾900万用户；而蓝色起源上周刚宣布研发名为“TeraWave”的超高速卫星数据网络。行业顾问蒂姆·法拉尔在社交媒体分析称，延期申请或为平息市场对“亚马逊利奥”项目可能剥离至蓝色起源的猜测，稳定客户信心，尤其在公司近期裁员背景下，保障未来数月争取客户承诺的关键时期。

中文翻译：

亚马逊表示，为其"亚马逊利奥"宽带互联网卫星安排发射任务比预期更为困难，现正向美国联邦通信委员会申请延期。

今日提交的延期申请要求FCC将亚马逊低地球轨道卫星部署期限延长至2028年7月30日，届时需完成计划中3232颗卫星的半數部署。原定截止日期为2026年7月30日。

亚马逊透露已为"利奥"星座投入超100亿美元，并预定了百余次发射任务。但公司承认将无法达到2020年FCC批准"柯伊伯计划"时设定的初始期限。"尽管储备了创纪录的发射资源并对发射基础设施进行深度投资，亚马逊利奥仍面临近期发射资源短缺的挑战，"声明指出，"这种短缺源于生产中断、新型运载火箭故障停飞及航天港容量限制等多重因素。"

受发射资源缺口影响，亚马逊不得不削减其位于华盛顿州柯克兰卫星制造工厂的产能。"利奥系统每周可稳定生产30颗卫星——即年产超1500颗，"公司说明，"截至目前已制造数百颗符合飞行标准的卫星，若非为应对发射计划延迟而调整生产进度，本可轻松实现数倍于此的产量。"

火箭短缺并非计划推迟的唯一原因。申请文件中透露，2023年发射的原型卫星测试任务"虽验证了利奥系统的整体设计，却因需进行计划外的重新设计以提升性能可靠性，导致全面投产推迟约九个月。"

迄今亚马逊已通过联合发射联盟的四枚"宇宙神5号"火箭和三枚SpaceX"猎鹰9号"火箭，将180颗生产级卫星送入轨道。未来数月内，ULA的"火神"火箭和欧洲研制的"阿里安6号"火箭将执行首次重型发射任务。亚马逊已预定蓝色起源公司24次"新格伦"重型火箭发射，并在今日文件中确认除已执行的三次外，还额外预定了10次猎鹰9号发射任务。

亚马逊预计到7月底将拥有700颗在轨卫星。"届时利奥系统有望向更多企业和政府客户交付终端设备，并为在美国及全球范围内更广泛地推广服务做好准备，"公司表示。

亚马逊坚称将在2029年中期的最终期限前完成全部3232颗卫星部署。申请文件中建议FCC可直接豁免中期节点期限，作为批准延期的替代方案。

虽然延期申请早在预料之中，但当前卫星互联网服务市场竞争正日趋白热化。SpaceX的星链网络目前占据市场主导地位，已发射超9000颗卫星并为逾900万用户提供服务。上周蓝色起源公司宣布正在开发名为"太赫波"的超高速卫星数据网络。

行业顾问蒂姆·法拉尔在X平台系列推文中指出，延期申请时机"在蓝色起源发布太赫波计划引发亚马逊利奥可能分拆至该公司的猜测后，显得尤为微妙"。

"亚马逊坚持发射3200颗现有型号卫星而非转向能与星链V3竞争的新型号，这似乎并非明智之举。但至少目前能平息关于利奥项目未来的质疑，"法拉尔写道，"这对亚马逊利奥未来数月全力争取客户签约尤为重要，特别是在公司近期裁员之后。"

英文来源：

Amazon says it’s been harder than expected to secure rides for its Amazon Leo broadband internet satellites, and now it’s asking the Federal Communications Commission for more time.
The request for an extension, filed today, asks the FCC to give Amazon until July 30, 2028, to deploy half of its 3,232 satellites in low Earth orbit. The current deadline is July 30, 2026.
Amazon said it’s spent more than $10 billion on its Leo constellation and has reserved more than 100 launches to get the satellites in their proper orbits. But it acknowledged that it’ll miss the original deadline, which was set in 2020 when the FCC gave the initial go-ahead for what was then known as Project Kuiper.
“Despite a historic reserve of launch capacity and deep investments in launch infrastructure, Amazon Leo has faced a shortage in the near-term availability of launches,” the company said. “This shortage has been driven by manufacturing disruptions, the failure and grounding of new launch vehicles, and limitations in spaceport capacity.”
Citing the launch availability gap, Amazon said it has had to reduce the production rate at its satellite manufacturing facility in Kirkland, Wash. “Amazon Leo is capable of consistently manufacturing 30 satellites per week — or over 1,500 satellites per year,” the company said. “To date, Amazon Leo has produced hundreds of flight-qualified satellites, and could readily have produced a multiple of this amount but for adjustments to its production schedule made in response to the delays in its launch manifest.”
The rocket shortage wasn’t the only factor behind the schedule delay. In the filing, Amazon said a prototype satellite test mission that was launched in 2023 “validated Amazon Leo’s general design but resulted in unexpected re-engineering to improve performance and reliability — a critical effort that delayed full-scale manufacturing by approximately nine months.”
Amazon has had 180 production-grade satellites launched so far, on four United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets and three SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. The first heavy-lift launches on ULA’s Vulcan and the European-built Ariane 6 rocket are supposed to be coming up in the next few months. Amazon has signed up for two dozen launches on Blue Origin’s heavy-lift New Glenn rocket. And in today’s filing, Amazon acknowledged that it’s reserved 10 Falcon 9 rockets in addition to the three already launched.
By the end of July, Amazon expects to have 700 satellites in orbit. “By this date, Amazon Leo also expects to have its customer terminals in the hands of more enterprise and government customers, and to be poised to roll out service more broadly in the U.S. and across the globe,” Amazon said.
Amazon insisted that it will make a final FCC deadline to have all of its planned 3,232 satellites deployed by mid-2029. In the filing, the company suggested that the agency could just go ahead and waive the halfway-point deadline as an alternative to granting an extension.
Although the request for a deadline extension was widely expected, it’s coming at a time when the market for satellite internet service is heating up. SpaceX’s Starlink network currently dominates that market, with more than 9,000 satellites launched and more than 9 million subscribers served. And last week, Blue Origin announced that it was working on an ultra-high-speed satellite data network called TeraWave.
In a series of posts to the X social-media platform, industry consultant Tim Farrar said the timing of the request “seems like more than a coincidence after the Blue Origin TeraWave announcement led to speculation about a spinoff of Amazon Leo to BO [Blue Origin].”
“It doesn’t seem particularly wise for Amazon to plan on launching 3,200 of the current design, rather than moving to a more advanced model that will be more competitive with Starlink V3. However, it will at least quiet any questions about Amazon Leo’s future for now,” Farrar wrote. “That’s really important when Amazon Leo are trying hard to win customer commitments in the coming months, especially after recent layoffs at the company.”