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Amazon with Kuiper satellites accelerates the challenge to SpaceX’s Starlink

Amazon with Kuiper satellites accelerates the challenge to SpaceX's Starlink

Amazon is building a $120 million facility in Florida for Project Kuiper. The facility will prepare satellites for low-orbit launch. The e-commerce giant's goal is to catch up with SpaceX's rapidly growing Starlink network, which already offers Internet services to thousands of customers in dozens of countries.

Amazon to invest $120 million in a Kuiper satellite launch preparation facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Amazon's Kuiper project has the authorization to launch 3,236 satellites to be placed in low Earth orbit, to form a constellation intended to provide Internet access even in remote locations. The company has pledged to invest $10 billion in the project, aiming to catch up with SpaceX's rapidly growing Starlink network, which already offers Internet services to thousands of customers in dozens of countries.

On March 14 , the online sales giant unveiled what customers can expect in terms of terminals to connect to the future network.

The tech giant founded by Jeff Bezos plans to launch the first prototypes of Internet satellites into space in 2024 and offer the first commercial tests shortly thereafter. Amazon's satellite internet unit will begin mass production of the satellites later this year and aims to launch two prototype satellites "in the coming months."

All the details.

THE STRUCTURE IN FLORIDA

The Florida facility will perform the final steps and prepare the satellites for launch on rockets from United Launch Alliance (ULA, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing) and Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos.

Notably, the company plans to begin satellite production at its Kirkland, Washington-based facility later this year. Amazon began construction on the site in January at the Kennedy Space Center and plans to complete it by the end of 2024, with a goal of shipping the first batch of satellites to the facility for processing in the first half of 2025, said Steve Metayer, vice president of Amazon's Kuiper Production Operations.

THE SCHEDULED LAUNCH OF AMAZON KUIPER SATELLITE

So the date for the completion of the passing satellites in the Florida facility will be 2025, even if Amazon is preparing to launch two prototypes by the end of the year.

Last year, the Andy Jassy-led company announced the largest rocket deal in the history of the commercial space industry. Amazon has in fact signed agreements with three companies for up to 83 launches to bring satellites of the Kuiper constellation into orbit. The goal of the satellite network is to bring internet connections to areas currently without connections.

Specifically, the Seattle group has signed with European Arianespace, Blue Origin, and Ula. It should be noted that the tech giant has not purchased launches from SpaceX, the most active private space company in launches. In contrast, the tech giant has preferred to rely on SpaceX's rivals by buying trips largely on rockets that have yet to debut, CNBC noted in the spring.


This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/ecco-come-amazon-con-i-satelliti-kuiper-accelera-la-sfida-a-starlink-di-spacex/ on Tue, 25 Jul 2023 05:40:37 +0000.