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Amazon launches first Kuiper satellites, challenging Starlink
The satellites were placed into low Earth orbit, and Amazon confirmed that contact has been established with all deployed units
Amazon has successfully launched 27 satellites under its Project Kuiper initiative, the company announced on Tuesday. With this, Amazon has officially entered the satellite internet sector, dominated by SpaceX’s Starlink.
The launch was conducted on Monday, 28 April, when the mission, named Kuiper Atlas 1, lifted off at 7 pm local time from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket.
The satellites were placed into low Earth orbit, and Amazon confirmed that contact has been established with all deployed units, with early-stage activation now in progress.
“We’ve done extensive testing on the ground to prepare for this first mission, but there are some things you can only learn in flight, and this will be the first time we’ve flown our final satellite design and the first time we’ve deployed so many satellites at once,” Rajeev Badyal, vice-president of Project Kuiper, said earlier this month. “No matter how the mission unfolds, this is just the start of our journey, and we have all the pieces in place to learn and adapt as we prepare to launch again and again over the coming years.”
The launch was delayed earlier this month because of weather conditions and comes after two prototype satellites were deployed in October 2023.
Started in 2019, Project Kuiper plans to establish a constellation of more than 3,200 satellites in the coming years to provide broadband internet services.
The company must place at least 1,618 of those satellites into orbit by July 2026 to comply with the Federal Communications Commission’s requirements.
“Atlas V is on its way to orbit to take those 27 Kuiper satellites, put them on their way, and really start this new era in internet connectivity,” said Caleb Weiss of ULA.
Like Starlink, Amazon plans to provide affordable broadband access to underserved regions and to commercial and government customers with Project Kuiper.
For this, Amazon has booked over 80 future launches through multiple providers, including ULA, Arianespace, SpaceX, and Blue Origin, the aerospace company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
The initial deployment was delayed after ULA prioritised missions for the US Space Force.
Amazon’s entry in the satellite internet market has toughened the competition in the field, which is currently dominated by Starlink.
Elon Musk-owned Starlink has deployed more than 7,000 satellites and serves over five million users worldwide, including those in crisis zones such as Morocco after its 2023 earthquake and Ukraine.
Other players in the rapidly growing sector include OneWeb, backed by SoftBank, and China’s Guowang and SpaceSail initiatives.
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