Amazon Boosts Satellite Internet Ambitions with Second Project Kuiper Launch
In a major move toward its goal of building a global satellite-powered broadband network, Amazon successfully launched 27 additional Kuiper satellites into orbit on Monday morning. The launch took place at 6:54 a.m. ET from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, using United Launch Alliance's (ULA) Atlas V rocket. This marks the second successful deployment for Project Kuiper, Amazon's ambitious effort to provide high-speed internet to underserved regions around the world.
With this mission, Amazon has now placed a total of 54 satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO). While that's still far from its planned constellation of 3,236 satellites, the company is steadily making progress. According to ULA, Monday's launch was 'the second of 46 recurring missions for Project Kuiper.'
'This mission is ambitious. It's going to impact communities that cannot be reached with fibre-traditional communications. The solution has to be from space,' said MiMi Aung, a director on the Kuiper team, during the mission's livestream.
Amazon's satellite initiative, first announced in 2019, aims to compete directly with SpaceX's Starlink — the current front-runner in the satellite internet sector, with thousands of satellites already deployed. Like Starlink, Project Kuiper will operate in low Earth orbit to enable faster internet speeds and reduced latency compared to traditional satellite systems. The network is intended to benefit remote schools, hospitals, businesses, and homes where conventional broadband infrastructure is lacking or unavailable.
To meet regulatory requirements set by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, Amazon must have at least half of its total constellation — 1,618 satellites — launched by July 2026. To that end, the company has secured more than 80 launch slots across multiple providers, including a few with its rival, SpaceX.
In an interesting twist, SpaceX reportedly launched more Starlink satellites from the same space station just hours before Amazon's liftoff — a sign of the growing intensity in this orbital rivalry.
'We have set out to design the most advanced satellite network ever built, and we have created the whole thing, in-house, at Amazon,' said Rajeev Badyal, Vice President of Technology at Project Kuiper, in a statement to Los Angeles Magazine.
While Amazon hasn't announced the date of its next launch, the pace is clearly accelerating as the company works to bring its satellite internet vision closer to reality.
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