Tag: satellite broadband
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AST SpaceMobile chooses Blue Origin’s New Glenn rockets for satellite launches
An artist’s conception shows AST SpaceMobile’s Bluebird satellites in orbit. (AST SpaceMobile Illustration) AST SpaceMobile plans to use Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket to launch some of the satellites for its space-based cellular broadband network in 2025 and 2026. New Glenn has been under development at Jeff Bezos’ privately held space venture for more than…
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Market study says Amazon is spending up to $20B on Project Kuiper satellite network
United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket lifts off with two prototype Amazon satellites in October 2023. (ULA Photo) A newly published market analysis of Amazon’s Project Kuiper effort to create a global satellite broadband network estimates the cost of getting the project off the ground at $16.5 billion to $20 billion — which is significantly…
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Amazon says it’s devoting another $19.5M to Project Kuiper satellite facility in Florida
Project Kuiper’s satellite processing center is taking shape in Florida. (Amazon Photo) Amazon plans to build a secondary support facility for its Project Kuiper satellite processing center at Kennedy Space Center in Florida — a $19.5 million expansion plan that brings total investment in the site to nearly $140 million. The 42,000-square-foot building will be…
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VIPs cut the ribbon at the grand opening of Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellite factory
Sen. Maria Cantwell speaks at a ribbon-cutting event for Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellite factory in Kirkland, Wash. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) KIRKLAND, Wash. — Amazon gave U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell and other VIPs a sneak peek at the company’s Project Kuiper satellite factory, where thousands of spacecraft are to be manufactured for a global…
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Final test: Amazon’s Project Kuiper begins to deorbit prototype broadband satellites
One of Amazon’s prototype satellites is seen in an orbital “selfie” from October 2023. (Amazon Photo) After a series of successful tests, Amazon says it has begun the monthslong process of bringing two prototype satellites for its Project Kuiper broadband internet constellation down from orbit. “The last milestone in our Protoflight mission is deorbiting Kuipersat-1…
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Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellite network sets up logistics site and training program
Students at Lake Washington Institute of Technology get hands-on lab training. (LWIT Photo) Amazon says it’s establishing a logistics facility in Everett, Wash., and partnering with a technical college in Kirkland, Wash., to boost the supply chain and workforce pipeline for its Project Kuiper satellite broadband network. Project Kuiper is Amazon’s $10 billion effort to…
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Kuiper satellite network gets a big lift from Amazon’s CEO, but timeline is a bit hazy
United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket sends two prototype Project Kuiper satellites into orbit for Amazon in October 2023. (ULA Photo) In his annual letter to shareholders, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says the company’s Project Kuiper satellite venture will be “a very large revenue opportunity” in the future — but he’s hedging his bets as…
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SpaceX launches the first set of Starlink satellites for T-Mobile’s direct-to-cell plan
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket sends Starlink satellites to space from a California launch pad. (SpaceX via Twitter/X) The first satellites capable of providing direct-to-cellular service via SpaceX’s Starlink network and T-Mobile’s cellular network have been sent into orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Six of the cell-capable satellites were among a batch of 21…
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Amazon reveals a secret about its Project Kuiper satellites: They’re using laser links
This graphic shows how Project Kuiper would use optical signaling between satellites. (Amazon Illustration) Ending years of speculation, Amazon has acknowledged that its Project Kuiper satellites will use laser-based links to communicate with each other, and says the system has already been successfully tested in orbit. Such a system — known as optical inter-satellite links,…
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Team of rivals: Amazon makes a deal with SpaceX for three Kuiper satellite launches
SpaceX’s 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’s Project Kuiper may be a competitor for SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband network, but business is business: Amazon says it has…