Amazon Aims to Launch First Internet Satellites in Late 2022

Amazon announced on Monday that it plans to launch its first Project Kuiper internet satellites in the fourth quarter of 2022.

“There is no substitute for on-orbit testing, and we expect to learn a lot given the complexity and risk of operating in such a challenging environment,” Amazon vice president of technology Rajeev Badyal stated.

The e-commerce giant has filed a request with the Federal Communications Commission to launch and operate its first two prototype satellites, called KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2.
According to the company’s announcement, the satellites will launch with ABL Space on its RS1 rocket.

“We’ll soon be ready to see how [the satellites] perform in space,” Amazon vice president of technology Rajeev Badyal said in a statement. “There is no substitute for on-orbit testing, and we expect to learn a lot given the complexity and risk of operating in such a challenging environment.”

Through Project Kuiper, the company is aiming to build a network of 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit to provide high-speed internet to anywhere in the world.

It was in 2020 that the FCC authorized Amazon’s system, which the company says it plans to “invest more than $10 billion” in Kuiper.

Early service from Kuiper is set to begin once Amazon has 578 satellites in orbit.

The Project Kuiper team now has over 750 people and “hundreds more” expected to be hired in the next year. Amazon built a 219,000 square-foot facility in Redmond, Washington to test and manufacture the satellites, and plans to add another 20,000 square-foot facility.

“KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2 will include much of technology and sub-systems that power the production version of our satellite design – phased array and parabolic antennas, power and propulsion systems, custom-designed modems and more,” Amazon said in a blog post.

The company also recently announced a partnership with Verizon.

Verizon is partnering with Amazon to use the satellite internet system the tech giant is developing to expand rural broadband access in the United States.

“We’re proud to be working together to explore bringing fast, reliable broadband to the customers and communities who need it most,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.