Tag: Project Kuiper
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Plans for launch of prototype satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper revised … again
An artist’s conception shows an Atlas V rocket launching Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites. (ULA / Amazon) Amazon’s plans to launch the first prototype satellites for its Project Kuiper broadband internet constellation have changed for the second time in a year — and once again, rocket development snags are the reason. The revised plans call for…
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Amazon shifts launch of its first Internet satellites to Atlas V rocket
Amazon has confirmed it now plans to launch the first two test satellites for the company’s Kuiper broadband network on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket as soon as next month, shifting the payloads off of the inaugural flight of ULA’s new Vulcan rocket. The shift has been rumored for several weeks after ULA…
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Amazon unveils plans for $120 million satellite processing facility for its internet constellation
A rendering of Amazon’s proposed satellite processing facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The 100,000-square-foot facility will be used to prepare satellites for its Project Kuiper internet constellation for launch aboard rockets from ULA and Blue Origin. On Friday, online retail giant amazon will join with members of Space Florida to reveal its plans for…
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‘Redmond Space District’ celebrates the Northwest’s hotspot for satellite industry
SpaceX employees in Redmond, Wash., give a cheer during the countdown to a Starlink satellite launch in 2019. Thousands of Starlink satellites have been built in Redmond. (SpaceX via YouTube) REDMOND, Wash. — This Seattle-area suburb has played a role in the space industry for more than a half-century, but the city of Redmond is…
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FCC plans to set up a new framework for connecting satellites with smartphones
Lynk Global has demonstrated its satellite-to-smartphone network in Mongolia. (Lynk Global Illustration) The Federal Communications Commission plans to set up a new regulatory framework to facilitate hookups between satellite operators and wireless companies, with the objective of connecting smartphone users in remote or underserved areas of the world. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, adopted today,…
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‘Open for business’: Amazon shows off antennas for its Kuiper satellite network
Amazon’s Dave Limp compares the size of the smallest Kuiper antenna, at right, to a Kindle ebook, at left. (Satellite 2023 via YouTube) After years of development, Amazon is showing off the antennas it plans to use for its Project Kuiper satellite broadband network — and says it plans to begin offering beta service for…
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Study highlights concerns over satellite interference with Hubble observations
A raw Hubble image shows a satellite streak. (NASA / ESA / STScI / Kruk et al. / Nature) An analysis of more than 100,000 images from the Hubble Space Telescope, conducted with the aid of artificial intelligence and hundreds of human volunteers, confirms that satellites including SpaceX’s Starlink spacecraft are increasingly interfering with astronomical…
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Amazon’s Kuiper satellites are good to go after FCC’s approval of orbital debris plan
Artwork shows ULA’s Vulcan rocket lifting off with Amazon’s Kuiper satellites. (Amazon Illustration) The Federal Communications Commission says Amazon’s 3,236-satellite Project Kuiper constellation is fully cleared for deployment after the company filed an acceptable plan for dealing with the risks of orbital debris. This week’s order follows up on the conditional approval that the FCC…
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Microsoft and Amazon take on new roles in Pentagon’s space communication plans
The Pentagon is working with commercial ventures to upgrade space-based networks. (Microsoft Illustration) Microsoft Azure Space, Amazon Web Services and Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellite network are now among the Pentagon’s partners in a campaign to upgrade space- and ground-based communications infrastructure for national security purposes. The Defense Innovation Unit has awarded contracts to those three…
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Amazon switches Project Kuiper prototype satellites to ULA’s first Vulcan launch
An artist’s conception shows a ULA Vulcan Centaur rocket launching Amazon’s satellites. (Amazon Illustration) The first two prototype satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband internet network are now due to launch on the first-ever flight of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket early next year, rather than on ABL Space Systems’ rocket. Today’s announcement comes…