Amazon launches its first Kuiper Internet satellites to compete with SpaceX's Starlink
Amazon’s first batch of internet satellites poured into orbit Monday night, the latest work from the giant constellation market, currently dominated by SpaceX’s thousands of Starlinks.
Atlas V Rocket of the United Launch Alliance got 27 of the Kuiper satellites from the Amazon project, named after our cold edge of the solar system outside Neptune. Once released in orbit, the satellite will eventually reach an altitude of nearly 630 kilometers.
Two test satellites were also launched by Atlas V. Project officials said a major upgrade to the latest version was made. The latest satellite is coated with a mirror film designed to spread reflected sunlight to accommodate astronomers.
Stargazers oppose the fast-growing constellations of low-pitched satellites, believing that they undermine observation. Others are worried about more satellite collisions.
Start our KA-01 mission in name. We have established contacts with all 27 Kuiper satellites in orbit and have made initial deployment and activation sequences as planned. because @ulalaunch For successful release, this is the first of many tasks. pic.twitter.com/xyg0ucgjux
Founded by Jeff Bezos, he runs his own rocket company Blue Origin, with the goal of putting more than 3,200 of these satellites into orbit to provide fast, affordable broadband services worldwide.
Since 2019, Elon Musk's SpaceX has launched more than 8,000 interstellar links. The company marked its 250th Star Link launch on Sunday night. More than 7,000 interstellar links are still in orbit, about 550 kilometers from Earth.
The number of OneWeb satellite constellations headquartered in Europe is in higher orbits.
Amazon has purchased dozens of rocket launches, among other products from the United Punch Alliance and Blue Origin.
“Despite extensive testing, there are “some things that can only be learned in flight”, said Rajeev Badyal, vice president of the program.
“It's the beginning of our journey no matter how the mission unfolds,” he said in a statement before the evening rises.
The first attempt to lift off earlier this month was stripped of due to bad weather. Until now, another position has been secured in the launch lineup of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
