Amazon speed up Project Kuiperthe initiative to create a satellite Internet network that will compete with the SpaceX service.
Amazon will send the first two satellites into orbit in early 2023 Kuipersat-1 and Kuipersat-2. The road will obviously be very long and bridging the gap with Elon Musk’s corporate infrastructure, which already has thousands of Starlink satellites, will take several years. Production of the first two satellites is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Amazon has already found a partner for the first Project Kuiper mission: the two satellites are sent into orbit with a rocket from the United Launch Alliance. The ULA should make the new ones available Vulcan Centaur, a carrier in development since 2014 and still ‘virgin’. It has never been tested.
Amazon has already signed a multi-year agreement with ULA. The giant has already booked 47 launches, which will serve to complete the future constellation of Project Kuiper satellites. The launch of the first two satellites will be crucial as they will allow Amazon to test its technology and obtain the data needed to design the second phase of the project.
Amazon plans to launch 3,236 satellites into orbit in the coming years. Only then can it shop on equal terms (or almost) with the Starlink network.
Source: Lega Nerd
