Jeff Bezos and his Project Kuiper team will launch the first test satellites later in 2022, ahead of his planned 3,236 low Earth orbiting broadband constellation. Project Kuiper will use rocket company ABL Systems to launch the two satellites (named KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2) and not Bezos’s own Blue Origin rockets. The launches will take place […]
Verizon is to partner up with Amazon to use its proposed satellite internet system to expand rural broadband access in the US. “We’re proud to be working together to explore bringing fast, reliable broadband to the customers and communities who need it most,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a statement. Amazon’s Project Kuiper’, is […]
Amazon, in a formal letter to the FCC last week, has objected to SpaceX enhanced plan for almost 30,000 new Starlink satellites and their adjusted orbits. SpaceX, in two submissions, said it could offer a better service by adjusting the existing planned orbits. Amazon, which is developing its own low Earth orbiting system, Project Kuiper/Kuiper […]
Jeff Bezos is just a few days away from his Blue Origin/New Shephard sub-orbital launch, scheduled for July 20th. But back at its Redmond (Washington state) headquarters, his Project Kuiper broadband-by-satellite team are readying its next steps. Amazon’s Project Kuiper is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to launch 3236 satellites into low Earth orbit. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted Elon Musk permission to lower the orbital heights of its Starlink broadband satellite system. “Specifically, we modify the license by reducing the number of satellites from 4,409 to 4,408; modifying the primary operational altitude specified for 2,814 satellites, to change it from the 1,100-1,300 km range to the […]
Elon Musk is getting closer to winning FCC approval to fly some of his Starlink low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellites at even lower heights. Acting FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel has asked her board colleagues to formally vote on the plan having herself endorsed the idea. SpaceX is already licensed to operate 1,584 of its Starlink […]
The news that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is now publicly committing to using the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) giant Atlas 5 rocket was no great surprise. However, his decision allows a noticeably clear opportunity for a ‘contrast and compare’ between the Bezos-backed Project Kuiper and arch-rival Elon Musk’s Starlink scheme. The two rivals are also […]
Jeff Bezos has contracted nine rocket launches with the United Launch Alliance (ULA) to launch his initial Project Kuiper low Earth orbiting (LEO) broadband-by-satellite craft. The contract means that for the time being he is not depending on his own Blue Origin rocket system. “We’re determined to make affordable broadband a reality for customers and […]
The US Space Force has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to the world’s emerging Low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellite operators (and would-be operators) for guidance on how the Space Force might buy broadband LEO services in the future. The Space Force’s Commercial Satellite Communications Office, acts as a centralised operation which acquires satellite-based communications […]
A report from investment bank Exane/BNPP says that today’s various satellite operators are supplying some 2,000 Gb/s of capacity (as at December 31st 2020 and using Northern Sky Research data). The bank suggests that this will grow ten-fold by the end of this year, and 30-fold before the end of this decade. This growth includes