Amazon to launch two test satellites from the Kuiper project in late 2022

Amazon has announced the first step in creating a competitor to SpaceX's Starlink. Online edition of The Verge

said that next year the company will launch KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2, two prototypes from the Kuiper project, which should also ensure the smooth operation of Amazon's Internet services.

Launch of a test spacecraftscheduled for the end of next year. It's unclear how Jeff Bezos will compete for customers with Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet service that already has several hundred thousand users.

Amazon has submitted an application to the FederalUS Communications Commission requesting permission for this launch. At this stage, Jeff Bezos' company expects to receive an experimental license – a certificate that allows you to launch satellite prototypes and test Internet services without the ability to sell these services.


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Under this program, Amazon will collectperformance and telemetry data, analyzing the efficiency of the equipment used and its competitiveness. If licensed, the two prototypes will be launched into space from Cape Canaveral in two separate missions.

Launch vehicles will be manufactured by a beginnerby ABL Space Systems. This is an additional cost for Amazon, while SpaceX is building its Starlink satellite constellation using its own reusable launch vehicles.

Source: theverge

Illustrations: ABL Space Systems / Amazon

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