Amazon wants to be a satellite-internet powerhouse. It has a long way to go.

Some of the plan’s biggest hurdles aren’t in orbit, but on the ground.

Twenty-seven Amazon satellites were launched from the Florida coast to orbit Monday night, a mission handled by rocket company United Launch Alliance. A year and a half ago, ULA sent two prototype satellites for Amazon to space.

To compete with established providers, Amazon needs to rapidly manufacture and deploy thousands more satellites on a narrow timeline. It also faces a set of challenges familiar to many companies pushing to scale up manufacturing rates.

Amazon’s Project Kuiper venture aims to build a large constellation of satellites capable of providing high-speed internet connections to customers around the world. Amazon executives have said the company plans to invest more than $10 billion in Kuiper.

In all, the company plans on having around 3,200 satellites in orbit over the next few years, building a business it hopes will eventually provide “meaningful operating income," Chief Executive Andy Jassy wrote in Amazon’s recent annual letter to shareholders.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has demonstrated the power of such a fleet through its Starlink business, which has more than 7,000 satellites in orbit and more than 5 million users.

At least two similar Chinese systems are also in the works, while Canadian satellite operator Telesat is developing a new fleet called Lightspeed. In Europe, governments and satellite companies are planning a satellite network for secure government communications and other services.

“No matter how the mission unfolds, this is just the start of our journey," said Rajeev Badyal, vice president of Kuiper.

Leaders at Kuiper have been intensely focused on getting satellites ready for launches, but the initiative has faced setbacks as Amazon brought on new employees, including those staffing an additional shift, and developed production lines, people familiar with the business said.

Amazon has said at peak capacity, it expects to make up to five satellites each day at a factory outside of Seattle it opened last year. The company wasn’t near that pace late last year and earlier in 2025, people familiar with the matter said. One person familiar with the company said as of the start of 2025, Kuiper was building almost one satellite a day.

“We’ll continue to increase our production, processing, and launch rates following this first mission," an Amazon spokeswoman said. The company is on track to start delivering service to customers later this year, she added.

Looming for Kuiper is a major deadline: By the end of July 2026, the company is supposed to have about 1,600 satellites in orbit, according to the terms of its license with the Federal Communications Commission.

If it misses that milestone, the telecom regulator could reduce the number of total satellites Amazon is authorized to deploy, potentially crimping the internet capacity the company is looking to provide.

The spokeswoman for Amazon said the company is working to fulfill all of the obligations set in its FCC license.

Many satellite-industry officials expect the company will miss the deadline, though some analysts have said Amazon could seek and secure an extension if that happens.

The FCC didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Monday’s launch marked the first time Amazon has flown satellites expected to form part of its planned constellation. Amazon has purchased three satellite missions with SpaceX, but the vast majority of its Kuiper launches are with ULA, France-based Arianespace and Blue Origin, the space company owned by Jeff Bezos.

The latter three have recently debuted powerful new rockets and are pushing to ramp up vehicle production and fly more often for Amazon and other customers.

Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com