Kuiper is one of Amazon’s biggest ongoing bets, positioning against Starlink and international telecommunication companies like AT&T and T-Mobile.
Amazon launched its first 27 satellites from Florida as part of ‘Project Kuiper’, marking the start of the long-postponed deployment of an internet-from-space network designed to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink.
These satellites are just part of 3,236 that Amazon plans to launch into low-Earth orbit worth $10 billion.
The project aimed to provide global broadband internet for consumers, companies, and governments: customers that SpaceX has been targeting for years.
At 7 pm EDT, 27 satellites were launched into space from the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, lying on top of an Atlas V rocket by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
It was initially supposed to launch on April 9, but due to bad weather, the plan got scrapped.
Kuiper is one of Amazon’s biggest ongoing bets, positioning against Starlink and international telecommunication companies like AT&T and T-Mobile.
The project was marketed as beneficial for rural areas with minimal connectivity.
The company planned to launch its first operational satellite in 2024, but it got postponed by over a year.
Analysts indicate that the company must launch 1,618 satellites or half of its constellation by mid-2026, the deadline given by the US Federal Communications Commission. But it seems like Amazon might need to extend it.
Amazon has to publicly verify initial contact with all satellites from its mission operations in Redmond days after the launch.
If everything goes according to the plan, they will start providing them to customers later this year.
Amazon stated it would start service in some northern and southern areas with 578 satellites and expand coverage toward Earth’s equator as they launch more satellites.
Project Kuiper is a late start into a SpaceX-dominated market, but Amazon executives believe that Amazon’s experience in consumer products and cloud computing space, which Kuiper will connect with, gives it an advantage over Starlink.
Amazon initially launched two prototype satellites in 2023, which it deemed successful. Until its first Kuiper launch announcement plans, it had given little noise regarding the program’s development.
Since 2019, SpaceX has launched over 8000 Starlink satellites using its reusable Falcon 9 rocket. It completed its 250th Starlink launch, leveraging satellite operator and launch company position.
Its deployment speed has increased to at least one Starlink mission each week, with each rocket carrying two dozen satellites to increase the bandwidth and replace the old satellites.
The rapid expansion has helped Musk get over 5 million internet users in 125 countries, disrupt the satellite communications market, and attract military and intelligence agencies who want to use Starlink in sensitive national security initiatives.
Amazon Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos expressed confidence in competing with Starlink, citing an insatiable demand for the internet.
He is open to everyone becoming a winner: Starlink will succeed, and Kuiper needs to win.
He added that the system would be mainly commercial but undoubtedly have defense applications for these low-Earth orbit (LEO) constellations.
In 2023, Amazon revealed Kuiper consumer terminals: an antenna in the size of LP vinyl that connects Kuiper satellites with a smaller terminal in the size of an e-book Kindle.
To prepare itself for the Kuiper project, Amazon has made the largest launch deal by booking 83 rocket launches from ULA and France’s Arianespace in 2022
Amazon launch of 27 satellites as part of its $10 billion project is a big milestone in building a broadband network from space. With growing global demand for reliable internet, especially in rural and underserved areas, Project Kuiper could reshape digital connectivity worldwide.
The coming months will be critical for Amazon as it races against time to meet regulatory deadlines, validate satellite performance, and roll out services by the end of the year. Even though Amazon has entered late in the increasingly crowded satellite communications space, its calculated move signals that the competition has only just begun.
