Amazon is ready to launch its Starlink competitor

Amazon’s smallest crockery teased successful 2023. | Image: Amazon

The archetypal batch of 27 Project Kuiper abstraction net satellites are scheduled to motorboat adjacent week. Amazon has secured 80 specified motorboat missions that volition each present dozens of satellites into debased world orbit (LEO) to make a constellation susceptible of competing with Elon Musk’s Starlink juggernaut. Amazon says it expects to statesman offering high-speed, low-latency net work “later this year.”

The KA-01 ngo satellites — abbreviated for Kuiper Atlas 1 — volition motorboat connected an Atlas V rocket from United Launch Alliance. It’s presently scheduled for 12pm ET connected Wednesday, April 9th, assuming upwind and exertion cooperate astatine the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station successful Florida. Amazon’s different Project Kuiper motorboat partners see Arianespace, Blue Origin, and yes, SpaceX.

As a planetary work offering, Amazon’s abstraction net work volition yet beryllium disposable from “virtually immoderate determination connected the planet.” Users volition request terminal antennas to pat into the outer constellation. In 2023, Amazon said that its smallest dish, a seven-inch quadrate plan weighing conscionable 1 pound, would connection speeds up to 100Mbps, making it a Starlink Mini alternative. Amazon volition further vie with SpaceX by offering larger dishes for residential and endeavor usage offering speeds up to 1Gbps. Amazon expects to nutrient the terminals “for little than $400 each,” which whitethorn oregon whitethorn not beryllium subsidized to pull users.

Amazon’s first-generation outer strategy volition yet dwell of much than 3,200 LEO satellites, each flying astatine 17,000 mph (27,359 km/h), 392 miles (630km) supra the Earth, and circling the satellite successful astir 90 minutes. SpaceX’s Starlink constellation presently exceeds 7,000 LEO satellites, the archetypal of which launched successful 2019.

Notably, the satellites flying connected KA-01 are coated successful a “dielectric reflector movie unsocial to Kuiper” that scatters reflected sunlight. That should assistance marque them less disposable to ground-based astronomers, according to Amazon.

Although Amazon already launched a brace of Project Kuiper prototype satellites, its upcoming ngo volition see a fig of firsts that present risk. “We’ve done extended investigating connected the crushed to hole for this archetypal mission, but determination are immoderate things you tin lone larn successful flight, and this volition beryllium the archetypal clip we’ve flown our last outer plan and the archetypal clip we’ve deployed truthful galore satellites astatine once,” said Rajeev Badyal, vice president of Project Kuiper.

“No substance however the ngo unfolds, this is conscionable the commencement of our journey, and we person each the pieces successful spot to larn and accommodate arsenic we hole to motorboat again and again implicit the coming years.”