American internet giant Amazon has launched its first two test satellites for its ‘Project Kuiper’ for satellite-based internet connections. The Atlas V rocket carrying the satellites lifted off from the US spaceport at Cape Canaveral in the state of Florida on Friday afternoon, as the industrial group United Launch Alliance announced. Kuiper is intended to enable internet connections in previously poorly covered regions.
With the project, Amazon wants to compete with the Starlink satellite internet service of the space company SpaceX of American billionaire Elon Musk. Friday’s test attempted to establish contact between the probes and Earth, deploy their solar panels and confirm that all instruments are functioning properly and at the desired temperatures. After the tests, the two prototypes must be removed from Earth’s orbit and burn up as they enter Earth’s atmosphere.
“It is the first time that Amazon has launched satellites into space,” said Rajeev Badyal, vice chairman of Technology Kuiper. “We will learn a tremendous amount regardless of how the mission goes.”
Testing with customers no earlier than the end of 2024
According to Amazon, the first truly functional Kuiper satellites will be launched in early 2024. The company hopes to conduct the first tests with customers at the end of next year.
Online giant Amazon, founded by current American billionaire Jeff Bezos, plans to put 3,200 satellites into orbit over the next six years. Ten billion dollars (the equivalent of approximately 9.45 billion euros) must be invested in the project.
The aim is to enable internet access in remote and underserved areas of the world, including war and disaster areas. So far, Musk’s company SpaceX has dominated the sector. It launched the first of its more than 3,700 operational Starlink satellites into space in 2019. Other companies and governments are also looking at the area with interest. In addition to China, the German start-up Rivada also wants to send hundreds of satellites into space.
Source: Krone
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