Amazon launches its first Kuiper satellites in 2023
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Amazon aims to compete with Starlink using a constellation of 3,236 satellites.
Over the past few years, there has been a lot of talk about the progress of Starlink, the service offered by Elon Musk's company SpaceX, which provides Internet access via a constellation of satellites. But while Starlink is still in its infancy, the competition is getting active.
And while in Europe, Eutelsat is closing in on OneWeb, in the U.S., a digital giant is preparing to launch its first satellites to offer a competing service to Starlink. Formalized in 2019, Amazon's Project Kuiper aims to put a constellation made up of thousands of satellites into orbit to offer broadband connectivity.
Under new CEO Andy Jassy, who took the reins of the American giant in 2021, Amazon is cutting costs. And some projects, like the Scout delivery robot, have been abandoned. On the other hand, the Kuiper project is still on the table. This week, Amazon even announced the launch of the first satellites of this project in 2023.
Amazon's first Kuiper satellites soon in orbit
In a statement, the e-commerce giant announced that it will finalize its first two satellites, Kuipersat-1 and Kuipersat-2, before the end of the year. And the goal is now to deploy these in early 2023.
For the launch of these two satellites, Amazon will rely on the Vulcan Centaur rocket of the ULA or United Launch Alliance. The rocket will be launched from the Space Force Station at Cape Canaveral in Florida. Several dozen other launches, for the Kuiper constellation, are already planned with the ULA.
But for now, Amazon is still a long way from accomplishing its Kuiper project vision of providing high-speed broadband to populations that have no access or poor access to traditional mobile networks.
Indeed, the first two satellites scheduled to launch in 2023 are still only prototypes. Nevertheless, this brings Amazon closer to achieving its goals.
Kuipersat-1 and Kuipersat-2 will allow the company to collect data from real-world use, following laboratory experiments and simulations. After these tests, Amazon will be able to correct its satellite design and revise other aspects of the project.
Amazon is already planning the commercial launch
As a reminder, it is a total of 3 236 satellites that the e-commerce giant wants to put into orbit to constitute its constellation.
And according to Amazon, launches have already been booked with ULA, Blue Origin (which was also founded by Jeff Bezos), and Arianespace. According to Amazon's explanation, diversifying partners for the launch of its satellites reduces risk, while offering more flexibility.