{"id":17244,"date":"2023-12-02T01:48:11","date_gmt":"2023-12-01T17:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/team-of-rivals-amazon-makes-a-deal-with-spacex-for-three-kuiper-satellite-launches\/"},"modified":"2023-12-02T01:48:11","modified_gmt":"2023-12-01T17:48:11","slug":"team-of-rivals-amazon-makes-a-deal-with-spacex-for-three-kuiper-satellite-launches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/team-of-rivals-amazon-makes-a-deal-with-spacex-for-three-kuiper-satellite-launches\/","title":{"rendered":"Team of rivals: Amazon makes a deal with SpaceX for three Kuiper satellite launches"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full-width is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"630\" height=\"414\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/231201-spacex2-630x414.jpg\" alt=\"SpaceX Starlink launch, with future connection to Kuiper satellites\" class=\"wp-image-801438\" style=\"width:840px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/231201-spacex2-630x414.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/231201-spacex2-1260x829.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/231201-spacex2-768x505.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/231201-spacex2-1536x1010.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/231201-spacex2.jpg 1642w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"wp-element-caption\">SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 rocket launches a set of Starlink satellites on Nov. 27. Amazon has struck a deal to use Falcon 9 rockets for some of its Project Kuiper satellites as well. (SpaceX Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Amazon\u2019s Project Kuiper may be a competitor for SpaceX\u2019s Starlink satellite broadband network, but business is business: Amazon says it has signed a contract for three launches of Project Kuiper satellites on SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 rocket, supplementing scores of launches reserved on bigger rockets that haven\u2019t yet made their debut.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe additional launches with SpaceX offer even more capacity to support our deployment schedule,\u201d Amazon said today in a news release. Amazon said the launches are targeted to lift off beginning in mid-2025, but did not provide any information about the cost.<\/p>\n<p>Like Starlink, Project Kuiper is designed to open up broadband internet access to tens of millions of people around the world who are underserved. SpaceX has a big head start in the market, with thousands of satellites already in orbit and more than 2 million subscribers for Starlink\u2019s service.<\/p>\n<p>Amazon, in contrast, had its first two prototype satellites sent into orbit on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket just this October. A couple of weeks ago, Amazon reported that the satellites passed a monthlong series of tests, opening the way for satellites to be mass-produced at a factory in Kirkland, Wash. (For what it\u2019s worth, SpaceX\u2019s satellites are built nearby at the company\u2019s Redmond facility.)<\/p>\n<p>Project Kuiper\u2019s first production-quality satellites are due to be launched early next year, with beta service to begin in the latter half of 2024. At least half of Project Kuiper\u2019s planned 3,236-satellite constellation will have to be placed in low Earth orbit by mid-2026 to comply with the terms of Amazon\u2019s license from the Federal Communications Commission. But the vast majority of launches that Amazon has reserved would use three types of rockets that haven\u2019t yet flown a single mission: Blue Origin\u2019s New Glenn, ULA\u2019s Vulcan and Arianespace\u2019s Ariane 6. <\/p>\n<p>In addition to the three newly reserved Falcon 9 launches, Amazon has slots set aside on eight Atlas V rockets \u2014 a tried-and-true product line that is reaching its final days. So even though SpaceX and Amazon could be considered satellite network rivals, and even though SpaceX founder Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos haven\u2019t always been on the best of terms, the Falcon 9 reservations represent something of an insurance policy for Amazon\u2019s deployment schedule.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Can Amazon Compete With SpaceX In The Satellite Internet Business?\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/12xYSwfsSj0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The fact that SpaceX has been chosen for some of the Project Kuiper launches could also have an effect on a lawsuit complaining that Amazon didn\u2019t give enough consideration to SpaceX when it chose its launch providers.<\/p>\n<p>The Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Pension Fund, which has Amazon stock in its portfolio, filed suit in the Delaware Court of Chancery in August. The suit alleges that Amazon\u2019s directors and officers passed over SpaceX because of Bezos\u2019 ownership of Blue Origin, a SpaceX rival.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the face of SpaceX\u2019s proven reliability and cost advantages, Bezos-led Amazon\u2019s decision to not even consider SpaceX as a launch provider illustrates the glaring conflict of Bezos\u2019 affiliation with both Amazon and Blue Origin presented, and the substantial impact these conflicts had on the board\u2019s ability to protect the best interests of the company and its stockholders in negotiating the contracts,\u201d the pension fund said in its suit.<\/p>\n<p>The fact that Amazon ended up selecting SpaceX, even for a few launches, could arguably undermine the pension fund\u2019s argument. A hearing in the case has not yet been scheduled. Amazon says the pension fund\u2019s claims \u201care completely without merit, and we look forward to showing that through the legal process.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 rocket launches a set of Starlink satellites on Nov. 27. Amazon has struck a deal to use Falcon 9 rockets for some of its Project Kuiper satellites as well. (SpaceX Photo) Amazon\u2019s Project Kuiper may be a competitor for SpaceX\u2019s Starlink satellite broadband network, but business is business: Amazon says it has [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[275,479,962,20,4336,442,316],"class_list":["post-17244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-amazon","tag-falcon-9","tag-project-kuiper","tag-satellite","tag-satellite-broadband","tag-satellites","tag-spacex"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17244"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17244\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}