{"id":644,"date":"2025-04-03T19:49:14","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T19:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techrepublic.com\/?p=4300959"},"modified":"2025-04-03T19:49:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T19:49:14","slug":"new-competitor-of-elon-musks-starlink-amazons-project-kuiper-internet-satellite-initiative-launches-this-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/03\/new-competitor-of-elon-musks-starlink-amazons-project-kuiper-internet-satellite-initiative-launches-this-month\/","title":{"rendered":"New Competitor of Elon Musk\u2019s Starlink: Amazon\u2019s Project Kuiper Internet Satellite Initiative Launches This Month"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
The Project Kuiper payload is prepared for liftoff. Image credit: Amazon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Amazon is moving ahead with its internet satellite initiative, the tech giant announced on April 2. Project Kuiper, a batch of 27 satellites set to launch on April 9, will compete with Elon Musk\u2019s Starlink.<\/p>\n

<\/span>First satellite launch will demonstrate Amazon\u2019s space capability<\/span><\/h2>\n

Project Kuiper\u2019s satellites will provide internet access to virtually any location on the planet, Amazon said. The company initially signed the launch deal in 2022.<\/p>\n

On April 9, a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket will carry the 27 satellites from Cape Canaveral in Florida to a 280-mile low Earth orbit. This will be Amazon\u2019s first full complete deployment of internet satellites. The company plans to eventually deploy a total of 3,200 satellites in batches of dozens at a time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve done extensive testing on the ground to prepare for this first mission, but there are some things you can only learn in flight, and this will be the first time we\u2019ve flown our final satellite design and the first time we\u2019ve deployed so many satellites at once,\u201d said Rajeev Badyal<\/a>, vice president of Project Kuiper, in a press release.<\/p>\n

Two prototype satellites were tested in October 2023 and successfully enabled a two-way video call over satellite internet.<\/p>\n