Satellites of the promising Kuiper space Internet system, considered one of the main competitors of Starlink, will be produced without changes in design. About it became known SpaceNews from the Vice President of Technology Amazon Rajiva Badyala.
According to him, the prototypes of the KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2 constellation spacecraft launched into low-Earth orbit successfully demonstrated their operation, which made it possible to begin serial production of 3,200 new satellites with a similar design.
The executive noted that Amazon will begin launching new devices in the first half of 2024, and in the second half will begin providing beta access to the system. The company’s partners will be, in particular, telecommunications operators Vodafone and Verizon.
Badyal noted that during tests using satellite Internet, it was possible to successfully make purchases in an online store, watch high-definition videos and participate in a video call.
September edition reportedthat Amazon’s partners have promised to deploy Kuiper system satellites on time.
Previously, Amazon signed the largest commercial launch contract in history, involving a total of 38 launches of the Vulcan rocket, 18 of the Ariane 6, 12 of the New Glenn and nine of the Atlas V, of which none but the latter has ever been launched.
By July 2026, the company needs, according to the documents taken before the Federal Communications Commission USA commitments, to launch about half of the 3,236 spacecraft of the Kuiper constellation, which will compete with already deployed systems SpaceX And OneWeb.
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