Amazon launched its first 27 Kuiper internet satellites successfully which marked its entrance into the space-based broadband competition against Musk’s Starlink. The Atlas V rocket launched from Cape Canaveral carried the satellites that represent Amazon’s Project Kuiper which is a $10 billion initiative to provide global internet services to rural and underserved areas.
Amazon initiated its massive deployment of 3,236 satellites to low-Earth orbit through the launch of its initial 27 satellites. The deployment of Project Kuiper started later than expected because the project was initially scheduled to begin its deployment in early 2024. The company operates under time pressure because the FCC demands that the constellation reaches operational status with at least half of its satellites by mid-2026.
The satellite internet market shows intense competition because SpaceX operates Starlink with more than 8,000 satellites serving 5 million customers across 125 nations. Amazon believes its cloud infrastructure combined with its consumer network will provide an advantage in the market despite Starlink’s military capabilities and commercial satellite internet leadership.
The Kuiper service launch will start during the current year when satellite contact verification becomes possible. The network will use terminals resembling Kindles which Amazon plans to sell for less than $400 to enable user connections.
ULA plans to perform five additional Kuiper mission launches throughout this year because Amazon needs to match SpaceX’s weekly launch schedule. Jeff Bezos expressed his confidence about Kuiper by stating that multiple winners can succeed in the worldwide broadband competition.
