Advanced Television

bezos

The hidden news behind Bezos’s rockets

One of the mostly ignored elements of the Amazon Project Kuiper multi-rocket news – which in the words of Quilty Analytics “rightfully grabbed all the headlines” – might not be the most important story. Quilty says that Amazon’s announcement that it can build an all-electronically-steered flat panel antenna (FPA) for about $500 represents an earth-shattering […]

April 11, 2022

Bezos risks all on unproven rockets

Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos has contracted with three rocket launch companies to a 5- year launch timetable to place his 3236 ‘Project Kuiper’ satellites into orbit. Kuiper has until July 30th 2026 to launch at least half of its constellation (1618 satellites) to retain its FCC orbital and frequency permissions. The cargo being carried works […]

April 8, 2022

Bezos’s giant rocket orders unwrapped

The news on April 5th that Jeff Bezos had signed unprecedented orders for rocket capacity to get Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband system operational did not go far enough. The announcement also kick-starts a five-year timetable and designed to compete head-to-head with Elon Musk’s Starlink operation which is already in business. Amazon had ordered up a […]

April 6, 2022

Bezos makes Kuiper move

Jeff Bezos has ordered a massive series of rocket launches to get Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband system into space. Amazon has selected Arianespace, its own Blue Origin, as well as the United Launch Alliance for an overall 68 launches, split between the three giant launch providers. The three sets of contracts are by far the […]

April 5, 2022By Chris Forrester

Blue Origin to double passenger flights

The Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origin rocket system says it plans to more than double the number of people it lofts into sub-orbital space upon its New Shepard vehicle. It was a New Shepard rocket which carried William Shatner into sub-orbital space last October. Bob Smith, chief executive of Blue Origin, speaking at the annual FAA […]

February 24, 2022By Chris Forrester

Shatner among Blue Origin final NS-18 crew

Blue Origin has announced that actor William Shatner and Audrey Powers, Blue Origin’s Vice President of Mission & Flight Operations, will fly on board New Shepard NS-18. Shatner’s career as an actor, director, producer, writer, recording artist, and horseman has spanned 60 years. He famously originated the role of Captain James T. Kirk in 1966 […]

October 5, 2021

“No India communication” from Musk, Bezos, OneWeb

An enterprising individual in India, and quoted the Indian Express, has submitted a Right to Information (RTI) request to India’s Dept. of Telecommunications (DoT) and asking what the status was on the planet’s three giant satellite constellation operators: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos or OneWeb. The RTI, surprisingly perhaps, has generated little in the way of […]

June 21, 2021By Chris Forrester

Ergen pockets $95m

Charlie Ergen, who is a major shareholder in Dish Network and EchoStar, has enjoyed a bump in his overall salary and compensation. Ergen is not quite in the same league as Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk, but this past year his total compensation has rocketed from $2.36 million to $94.7 million although a large portion […]

March 22, 2021

Bezos losing out to Musk in mega-satellite plan?

Amazon owner Jeff Bezos looks like suffering delays to his Project Kuiper broadband-by-satellite mega-constellation. Confirmed delays in the availability of his Blue Origin launch rocket could also affect Eutelsat which had reserved a flight on the rocket for one of its satellites. Bezos is backing the Blue Origin rocket launching system and they have delayed […]

March 2, 2021

Bezos/Musk alumni create new rocket business

Stoke-Space Technologies with a C-level staff list that includes some hirings from Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk-backed businesses Blue Origin and SpaceX, has raised $9.1 million seed capital for its development work on a rocket’s important second stage. Musk’s SpaceX has solved (usually) the task of getting a rocket’s first stage back to Earth, and […]

March 1, 2021By Chris Forrester