Did you know Amazon Rolls Out First Batch of Kuiper Internet Satellites into Space

 

Amazon just launched its first series of Kuiper internet satellites into space after a previous failed attempt due to unsuitable weather.

The company shared how it was able to successfully launch 27 Kuiper satellites from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station launchpad. This was located in Florida, a little after 7 pm Eastern time. They confirmed the breakthrough launch through a livestream event.

The company shared during the livestream how the countdown went smoothly, the weather was perfect, and the liftoff was seamless. Now, Atlas V is making an orbit to take the 27 Kuiper satellites belonging to Amazon. Once that’s done and they are adjusting accurately, it would give rise to a new period of internet connectivity, it added.

The satellites would be staying separate from a rocket that’s roughly 280 miles above the surface of the Earth, at which point Amazon would look to confirm their presence and maneuver independently and communicate with various employees located on the ground.

Nearly six years ago, Amazon shared big plans to design a major constellation of internet-beaming satellites present in low Earth orbit, dubbed Project Kuiper. This kind of service would be competing in a direct manner with archrivals such as Elon Musk’s Starlink. Today, the latter dominates this area. It has about 8000 satellites currently in orbit as we speak.

The initial Kuiper mission just kicked off a new era of launches for Amazon, which it needed to do to meet the deadline outlined by the FCC. The agency hopes the firm to have 50% of the total constellation in space by next summer. So as you can see, the competition is tough, but this might be the star that Amazon needed to reach its target.

Right now, Amazon has more than 80 launches booked to roll out dozens of satellites over a certain period of time. Other than ULA, the launch partners entail Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the EU’s Arianespace, and Bezos’ space exploration startup, which is Blue Origin.

Amazon allocated a massive investment worth $10 billion to design the entire Kuiper network. Through this system, it hopes to give rise to commercial services so consumers can benefit, as well as the government and other businesses.

Amazon’s CEO shared this past month in a letter to shareholders how it would need a mega investment at the start, but with time, it hopes to generate more meaningful income and ROIC business. We’ll hear more about this after the company’s first quarter earnings report is shared on Thursday.