Amazon on Thursday set a launch date to send 27 low-Earth orbit satellites into space as part of Project Kuiper: Wednesday, April 9, at 12 p.m. ET.
The launch will be a big step forward for the project, which Amazon launched with promises of a $10 billion investment in 2019. Now the company is poised to enter the race to provide satellite internet service, a space currently dominated by SpaceX’s Starlink, which has about 7,000 satellites. Amazon’s plans call for 3,200 satellites to be deployed over 80 launches. The company intends to provide internet service with this technology later this year.
The launch mission, “KA-01” or Kuiper Atlas 1, will be on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and will take place at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Amazon said. The company set up a mission page for updates on the launch and plans to livestream the takeoff.
Competition may bring more widespread internet service
The literal space race, which includes Starlink, Amazon and other companies such as Viasat, Hughesnet, Eutelsat and China’s SpaceSail, could mean more availability of internet service in far-flung and rural areas that have limited broadband options. Though Starlink is the leader in the space, some of these other companies are continuing to launch satellites and working to deploy high-speed internet in more markets such as Brazil. With more players in the market, that could mean faster and cheaper internet in more areas, although whether that actually bears out for consumers remains to be seen.
Mahdi Eslaminehr, executive vice president at Quandary Peak Research and adjunct professor at the Department of Computer Science at USC, said Amazon is well poised to go up against Starlink. “Amazon has made extensive launch agreements with major providers such as United Launch Alliance (ULA), Arianespace, Blue Origin, and even SpaceX itself, positioning Kuiper as a major challenger due to its expansive infrastructure and significant resources.”
He said, “While Starlink currently enjoys clear market leadership, it faces increasing competition from well-capitalized and strategically agile competitors, specifically from China, suggesting the market will become considerably more competitive in the near future.”
Amazon’s satellite efforts so far, Eslaminehr said, have been promising and successful, at least in the prototype stages. The company has also been testing Amazon Web Services in space. “These developments collectively underscore Amazon’s robust entry into the satellite internet market and reflect positive early momentum in its overall space strategy.”
Beyond how it fares against Starlink and other companies, the Amazon satellite launches are significant in other ways. Eslaminehr said, “Project Kuiper isn’t just about competition; it’s positioned as a critical step toward closing the global digital divide, promising to deliver high-speed internet to underserved communities worldwide.”
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