Amazon's Rival to Starlink Satellite Internet Is Ready for Its First Big Rocket Launch

Amazon on Thursday set a launch date to send 27 low-Earth orbit satellites into space as part of Project Kuiper: Wednesday, April 9, at 12 p.m. ET. The launch will be a big step forward for the project, which Amazon launched with promises of a $10 billion investment in 2019. Now the company is poised to enter the race to provide satellite internet service, a space currently dominated by SpaceX's Starlink, which has about 7,000 satellites. Amazon's plans call for 3,200 satellites to be deployed over 80 launches. The company intends to provide internet service with this technology later this year. The launch mission, "KA-01" or Kuiper Atlas 1, will be on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and will take place at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Amazon said. The company set up a mission page for updates on the launch and plans to livestream the takeoff. Competition may bring more widespread internet service The literal space race, which includes Starlink, Amazon and other com ... Read full article.