Amazon may be flying to drop off a package at your doorsill , but it has take up year for the fellowship to last be quick to deport its satellites to outer space . The Jeff Bezos - led company is pitch up for the launch of the first batch of its cyberspace planet to moo Earth orbital cavity , hoping for a chance to vie with SpaceX ’s Starlink .
Amazon ’s Project Kuiper is set to launch its first full batch of satellite on Wednesday , April 9 , at 12 p.m. ET . The satellite will be tucked inside a United Launch Alliance ( ULA ) Atlas V rocket , which will lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida . After nip and tuck off , the rocket salad will attempt to deploy all 27 satellites to an height of 280 miles ( 450 km ) above Earth , according toAmazon .
The mission , mention “ KA-01 ” for Kuiper Atlas 1 , has been a long time in the making andAmazon is eager to get in into the satellite broadband securities industry . That market is currently dominated by Elon Musk ’s SpaceX , which has launched more than 7,000 satellite to orbit to furnish gamy - pep pill internet to 70 countries . Musk wants to plunge 42,000 satellites to land up off the mega constellation , but so far the Federal Communications Commission has granted SpaceX the license for 12,000 first - generation artificial satellite and an extra 7,500 for its 2nd - generation constellation .
Twenty-seven satellites are packed into ULA’s rocket ahead of launch.Amazon
Project Kuiper , on the other hand , is not aiming for those high numbers . Instead , Amazon want to plunge 3,200 low Earth orbit artificial satellite , securing 80 coming launches with multiple commercial supplier , include Arianespace , ULA , and Bezos ’ other space venture , Blue Origin , to form its initial constellation .
Amazon alreadylaunched two prototype satellites , KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2 , on an Atlas V rocket in late 2023 . The test foreign mission was successful , with the two satellite pulling off controlled maneuvering in low Earth arena .
The Kuiper orbiter will orbit at an height that ’s between 367 and 391 mil ( 590 and 630 km ) above Earth . The satellite are built with an dynamic actuation scheme , which include a customs duty pusher built in - house and a krypton - filled propellant tank , to combat atmospheric drag and exert artificial satellite height within 5.6 miles ( 9 km ) of target in operation orbits .
The upcoming launching is a major step for Amazon , but it still has a band of catching up to do compared to its competitor . Amazon , however , hasmarketedProject Kuiper as “ affordable broadband , ” saying that its standard pole will cost around $ 400 to construct , which would make them less expensive than SpaceX ’s kits , according toThe Verge . In addition to customer terminal , Amazon will also employ a meshwork of ground - base antenna and vulcanized fiber connections to deliver connectivity . The company claims that its internet service has the potential to deliver speeds up to 400 megabit per second , which is importantly faster than the current speed give birth by Starlink — upwards of 300 Mbps with standard service , accordingto Tom ’s Guide .
Project Kuiper aims to fork out internet services to home , businesses , government agencies , and other institutions . Vodafone and its African branch , Vodacom , havepartneredwith Amazon to use Project Kuiper to spread out its 4G/5 gibibyte electronic connection .
That sounds like a lot of safe promise from Amazon , but only time will tell if it can fork up and be able-bodied to compete with Starlink ’s expanding influence . This first launch should be a good index number .
“ We ’ve designed some of the most innovative communication satellites ever ramp up , ” Rajeev Badyal , vice president of Project Kuiper , said in a statement . “ We ’ve done wide testing on the primer coat to organize for this first mission , but there are some things you may only learn in flight , and this will be the first time we ’ve flown our terminal satellite design and the first time we ’ve deployed so many satellites at once . ”
AmazonJeff Bezosproject kuipersatellites
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