Amazon is reportedly about to launch two satellites for the first time for its satellite internet project to test its ability to transmit broadband internet in orbit. As early as April 2019, Amazon announced that it would form a "Project Kuiper" satellite network, which will consist of 3,236 satellites and is designed to provide broadband Internet services to users around the world, thereby competing with Elon Musk's SpaceX's "Starlink" satellite Internet.
But the project has been delayed again and again, and so far, Amazon has not put any of its Project Kuiper satellites into orbit. Now, Amazon is finally officially launching the project.
At 2 p.m. local time on Friday (2 a.m. Saturday, Beijing time), Amazon will launch two test satellites for the "Project Kuiper" project in Florida using United Launch Alliance's Atlas V main rocket.
The launch mission, called "protoflight," was designed to test the satellite's ability to transmit broadband internet in orbit. According to the original plan, the two satellites should have been launched into orbit a year ago.
This will be the first flight test of Amazon's ambitious "Project Kuiper" project, on which Amazon has committed to spend more than $10 billion.
Similar to SpaceX's "Starlink", "Project Kuiper" aims to use 3,236 satellites to provide satellite Internet services worldwide. In March of this year, Amazon released user terminal equipment for the project that can send and receive signals from unnamed "Project Kuiper" satellites.
The device is only 12 inches in diameter, making it smaller and lighter than traditional satellite dishes. Tests have shown that its maximum data transmission speed is up to 400Mbps and can be used to transmit 4K video from geostationary satellites.
"Project Kuiper" is just one of many planned satellite broadband networks. Its goal is to become the second satellite broadband service for individual consumers after "Starlink".
SpaceX’s “Starlink” service has shown that there is a market for low-latency space Internet services. But it's unclear how profitable the direct-to-consumer service will be and whether Amazon can succeed.
"Everyone assumes to some extent that since SpaceX can do these things (managing a network of thousands of satellites), so can others," said Brian Weeden, director of program planning at the SecureWorld Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to sustainable development in space. "But that's not proven yet."
SpaceX said at the end of last month that the "Starlink" service has covered seven continents, more than 60 countries and regions around the world, connected more than 2 million active users, and is still increasing. By comparison, at the end of last year, the number of active users of Starlink exceeded 1 million.
According to reports, the "Starlink" business achieved revenue of US$1.4 billion in 2022, while revenue in 2021 was only US$222 million.
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