Amazon intends to launch two test satellites from Kuiper project in late 2022

Amazon has announced the first step in creating a Starlink competitor to SpaceX. The online publication The Verge reported that next year the company will launch KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2, two prototypes from the Kuiper project that should also keep Amazon's Internet services running smoothly.

The launch of the test spacecraft is scheduled for late next year. It remains to be seen how Jeff Bezos will compete for customers with Starlink, SpaceX's satellite Internet service, which already has several hundred thousand users.

Amazon has submitted an application to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission seeking approval for the launch. At this point, Jeff Bezos' company expects to obtain an experimental license - a certificate that allows it to launch prototype satellites and test Internet services without the ability to sell those services.

As part of this program, Amazon will collect performance and telemetry data, analyzing the efficiency of the equipment in use and its competitiveness. If licensed, the two prototypes will be launched into space from Cape Canaveral on two separate missions.

The launch vehicles will be manufactured by a start-up company, ABL Space Systems. This is an additional cost for Amazon, while SpaceX is building its Starlink satellite constellation with its own reusable launch vehicles.

Source: theverge

Illustration: ABL Space Systems / Amazon