Amazon Finally Enters the Satellite Internet Race, Taking on SpaceX’s Starlink

Amazon has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to building a constellation of internet satellites in low Earth orbit, but the company has successfully deployed its first mission in an effort to compete with industry giant SpaceX. The Kuiper-1 mission launched on Monday at 7:01 p.m. ET from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The first batch of 27 satellites was packed into a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V for the inauguration of the Project Kuiper constellation, which has been a long time in the making. “All Kuiper-1 satellites have successfully deployed into space,” the company wrote on X a few hours after liftoff. The following day, Amazon confirmed that the mission is off to a good start with the satellites operating as expected. “We’ve already established contact with all 27 Kuiper satellites in orbit, and initial deployment and activation sequences are proceeding as planned,” the company announced. The Kuiper satellites will orbit at an altitude between 367 and 391 miles (590 ... Read full article.