The Bezos - Musk rivalry intensifies this workweek as Amazon gears up for the launch of two demonstration internet satellites . This marks the first of the Amazon billionaire ’s 3,236 - orbiter - stiff megaconstellation that might one 24-hour interval contend with Musk ’s leading space - based service , SpaceX — with “ one day ” being the surgical idiom .
Amazon ’s infinite enterprisingness , Project Kuiper , is scheduled to launch its first two satellite , KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2 , on Friday , October 6 . The scheduled upshot will take stead at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida , with the demo satellites devolve on aboard United Launch Alliance ’s ( ULA ) Atlas V rocket . The launch windowpane for the mission opens at 2:00 p.m. ET under an 80 % favorable weather forecast , accord to an emailed ULA statement .
The coming mission , dub Protoflight , is essential , as it signify Amazon ’s entree into the artificial satellite broadband marketplace , a quad primarily interest by SpaceX ’s Starlink and London - base OneWeb . According tostatskept by Jonathan McDowell of Harvard - Smithsonian , SpaceX currently boasts 4,812 working Starlink satellites , with OneWeb operate on 632 satellite in orbit . While Starlink focuses on verbatim consumer services , OneWeb primarily caters to internet serving providers .
The ULA Atlas V rocket fairing holding Amazon’s two demo Kuiper satellites.Photo: Amazon
Kuiper’s hybrid service model
Amazon ’s Project Kuiper , which kvetch off its enquiry and development phase in 2018 , is balance to be a bit like both ; the company plans to provide bothsmall customer terminalsand aground - base communication meshwork . Vodafone and its African ramification , Vodacom , havepartneredwith Amazon to utilise Project Kuiper to expand their 4G/5 G networks . This new collaborationism , announced in September , mirrorsAmazon ’s 2021 deal with Verizonto heighten telecom services in the United States .
Similar to claim made by SpaceX and OneWeb , Kuiper satellites promise to “ bridge the digital divide by providing fast , affordable broadband to communities unserved or underserved by traditional communications technologies , ” according to Amazon .
The chance to finally test Kuiper in space
In apress release , Rajeev Badyal , Project Kuiper ’s vice president of engineering science , say : “ We ’ve done extended examination here in our research lab and have a high degree of sureness in our satellite design , but there ’s no substitute for on - orbit testing , ” he allege , adding that “ we ’re going to get word an incredible amount regardless of how the mission unfolds . ”
The plan is for Atlas V to deploy the two satellite at an altitude of 311 mi ( 500 klick ) . Amazon ’s teams will be on understudy , awaiting first contact with the satellites , ensuring their solar array deploy for power , and monitoring onboard electronics in the challenging environment of space . The demonstration missionary station aims to formalize the full Project Kuiper system of rules ; engineer be after to test flat coat components to assure uninterrupted communication between satellites , ground place , the Kuiper System , and AWS .
“ As the mission get along , we will test the internet from end to last , send data back and forth between the cyberspace , our ground gateways , the orbiter , and our client terminals , ” writes Amazon .
Artist’s conception of the ULA/Amazon protoflight mission launch.Image: Amazon
At the deputation ’s ending , Amazon plan to safely deorbit both satellites , allowing them to glow up in Earth ’s atm . Indeed , Amazonclaimsit has meticulously designed its satellites with space rubber in creative thinker , with supply to prevent in - orbit collision with other objects or satellite in low Earth orbit . As to the constellation ’s eventual influence on astronomy , that persist an open question . uranologist have repeatedlysounded the alarm over satellite megaconstellations , arguing that they threaten our ability to note the cosmos .
The clock is ticking for Amazon
The companionship is operating under a tight timeline , with a Federal Communications Commission ( FCC ) licensestipulating the deployment of half of its satellite configuration by July 2026 . Despite initial challenges , including aswitch from ABL Space Systems ’ RS1 rocket to ULAdue to developmental delays , Amazon claim to be on track . The troupe anticipates serving its earliest Project Kuiper customers by the end of 2024 , even though the full orbiter deployment might stretch until 2029 . The fellowship has secured 77 heavy - aerodynamic lift launches with commercial-grade launch provider , including Arianespace , ULA , and Bezos ’s own Blue Origin ( technically , Project Kuiper and Blue Origin are separate entities , but possible collaboration between the two are likely , for better or sorry ) .
The Bezos versus Musk space encounter is heating up with Amazon ’s latest move , but we need to be real . Even with Bezos ’s cosmological ambition , Musk ’s SpaceX remain way in the lead . And there are other player ( e.g. , Viasat and HughesNet ) in the mix to use space as a position to circulate broadband internet . For now , it seems Bezos is still playing catch - up in the blank space race , but you got ta start somewhere .
For more spaceflight in your biography , trace us onX(formerly Twitter ) and bookmark Gizmodo ’s dedicatedSpaceflight page .
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