The assembly of the new Internet Amazon Internet constellation is underway.
A Atlas V Rocket Atlas V Rocket V by United Lanzión 7:01 PM EDT (2301 GMT)Which carries 27 or the broadband spacecraft “Project Kuiper” from Amazon to the low terrestrial orbit (Leo).
It was the first of more than 80 planned releases to build the Kuiper Megaconstellation project, which will possibly house more than 3,200 spacecraft.
That is a large number, but won a record; The Spacex Starlink Broadband Network, which already transmits service to customers around the world, currently consists of more than 7,200 operational spacecraft.
And Starlink, perhaps the biggest competitor of the Kuiper project, is growing all the time: Spacex has launched 31 Starlink missions so far this year, with many more in the file. In fact, there was a Starlink launch less than three hours before the launch of Atlas V today, with another planned for less than four hours later.
Related: Starlink satellites: facts, monitoring and impact on astronomy
If everything agrees with the plan today, the Atlas V will implement the 27 Kuiper Project 280 miles (450 kilometers) on Earth. The spacecraft then its own path to its operational altitude of 392 miles (630 km).
“While satellites complete the process of increasing orbit, we will look at the objective of the final mission: provide end -to -end network connectivity,” Amazon representatives wrote in a previous statement.
“This implies sending Internet data, through our land infrastructure, to the satellites and even the client’s terminal antennas, and the trip in the other direction,” they added.
The Kuiper project is expected to begin to provide coverage to the customer at the end of this year, according to Amazon.
Today’s launch was the second in general for the Project Kuiper program. An Atlas V sent two prototype satellites to the orbit in October 2023, in a test mission designed to test the technology of the company and inform the design of the operational ship of the constellation.
And there are differentials of praise between those pioneer satellites and those who rose today.
“We have improved the performance of each system and on -board subsystem, including gradual matrix antennas, processors, solar matrices, propulsion systems and optical links between satellites,” said Amazon representatives in the same statement.
“In addition, the satellites are covered in an exclusive Kuiper dielectric mirror film that are dispersed reflecting sunlight to help them make them less visible to terrestrial astronomers,” they added.
The majority of the remotets of more than 80 launches will be made by Atlas V and its successor, the new rocket vulcan Centaur Centaur de Ula. Amazon has also signed launch agreements with Blue origin from Jeff Bezos, Spacex and Arianespace, based in France.
Today’s launch was originally scheduled for April 9, but bad weather intensified. Ula and Amazon had to wait for a launch groove to be opened in the Eastern mountain range, the Florida Spaceport and Testing site operated by the US space force.
