Amazon is about to send another batch of Project Kuiper internet satellites to orbit as it seeks to take on SpaceX’s Starlink service to provide broadband internet to customers around the world.
The tech giant has a long way to go before it has any hope of effectively challenging Starlink, but with its second launch set for next week, progress is being made toward its goal.
Project Kuiper is currently targeting Monday, June 16, for the launch of 27 internet satellites aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
The KA-02 mission comes seven weeks after the first Project Kuiper launch, which also deployed 27 internet satellites.
Commenting after the inaugural launch, Rajeev Badyal, vice president of Project Kuiper, said: “We’ve designed some of the most advanced communications satellites ever built, and every launch is an opportunity to add more capacity and coverage to our network.”
SpaceX began deploying its Starlink internet satellites six years ago and now has more than 7,000 of them in low-Earth orbit, bringing broadband connectivity to more than 5 million customers globally.
Project Kuiper says its initial constellation will be made up of more than 3,200 satellites, with more than 80 missions needed to reach that goal.
To that end, Amazon has put together a busy launch schedule, with six additional satellite deployments planned for ULA’s Atlas V rocket, at least 38 on ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket, and dozens more with Arianespace and Blue Origin. SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket may even help out.
Amazon is targeting as early as the end of this year for the launch of a high-speed, low-latency satellite-powered internet service, with as few as 1,000 satellites needed for global coverage. Building out the constellation to the targeted 3,200 satellites will help to boost network performance and reliability for paying customers.
