Amazon plans to launch two satellites test in low Earth orbit within end of 2021. The e-commerce giant has revealed that it has applied for an experiential license to launch two satellites, KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2, with the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The satellites will most likely be the first of many that the company will launch in an effort to expand its satellite broadband service.
Amazon: all ready for the launch of two test satellites
The service, called Project Kuiper, costs $ 10 billion and competes directly with Starlink, the broadband satellite service of SpaceX, Elon Musk’s space company. “We have developed many new technologies to meet our cost and performance targets for the Kuiper Project,” he said Monday Rajeev Badyal, the project’s vice president of technology.
“All systems are performing well in simulated environments and in the lab, and we will soon be ready to see how things go directly in space. There is no substitute for in-orbit testing and we expect to learn a lot given the complexity and risk of operating in such a challenging environment. We can’t wait to get started. ” Amazon will, among other things, also test the speed of the devices. Previous tests have shown that the equipment is capable of achieving 400Mbps of Internet connectivity.
If the US communications authority approves the project, Amazon will link its satellites to ABL Space Systems’ RS1 rocket, which is scheduled to launch next year and, if all goes according to plan, the latter will orbit the Earth at 590 kilometers of altitude, with an inclination of 35 degrees and a rotation around the planet once every 96.5 minutes.