Amazon said Wednesday it plans to launch 27 satellites on April 9 from the Cape Canaveral space station in Florida.
This is the first full batch of Internet communications satellites in the project, which will be launched by United Launch Alliance.
According to Project Kuiper, the first-generation satellite system will place a total of 3,200 satellites in the first group into orbit, which will require more than 80 launches to deploy.
“We have conducted extensive ground testing in preparation for this first mission, but some details can only be determined in flight, and this will be the first time we launch our final satellite and deploy so many satellites at once,” Project Kuiper’s Rajeev Badyal said in a statement.
The main goal of the project is to provide a global connection that will allow Internet services to be provided to virtually any point on Earth.
According to Project Kuiper, customer service will begin later this year.
The Federal Communications Commission's license for Project Kuiper requires Amazon to deploy half of the satellite constellation by July 2026 and the remainder by July 2029.
“Regardless of how the mission evolves, this is just the beginning of our journey, and we have everything we need to learn and adapt as we prepare for more launches in the years to come,” Badial said in a statement.
Amazon noted that the satellites, which will enter orbit on April 9, will be significantly improved over the two prototypes first launched in 2023.
According to Amazon, the upgrades include improved phased array antennas, solar panels, processors, propulsion systems and optical communications links between satellites.
The payload scheduled for launch on the Atlas V rocket on April 9 will be the heaviest ever launched into orbit, requiring the rocket's most powerful configuration, which includes five rocket boosters and a main booster.
There are seven more Atlas launches planned in the coming years, in addition to 38 launches of the larger Vulcan Centaur rocket.
Sourse: www.upi.com
