Amazon's Project Kuiper broadband network got a major boost Wednesday from SpaceX, as a Falcon 9 rocket launched several Kuiper satellites into orbit.
The mission, called KF-01, involved a Falcon 9 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 2:30 a.m. ET Wednesday, which placed 24 Kuiper satellites into low Earth orbit at an altitude of 289 miles.
“Congratulations to the amazing [Kuiper] team on another successful launch and thanks to [SpaceX] for flying into space,” Panos Panay, head of Amazon’s devices division, wrote Wednesday. “I’m excited to see the next batch of Kuiper satellites go into orbit!”
About nine minutes later, the Falcon 9's first stage returned to Earth, landing on SpaceX's unmanned vessel, A Shortfall of Gravitas, in the Atlantic Ocean.
The mission was the third launch of the Kuiper satellites, expanding Amazon's broadband network to 78 satellites, though the number is ultimately planned to exceed 3,200, requiring more than 80 launches before that goal is reached.
Sourse: www.upi.com
