On Wednesday, October 12, the company announced that the prototypes Kuipersat-1 and Kuipersat-2It will be launched into orbit by the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket in early 2023. The company said the launch will allow it to test the satellite network technology using data from space. The data “will help finalize development, deployment and operational plans for a commercial satellite system.”

It’s worth noting that the timing is slightly behind Amazon’s original plan; Last year, the company announced that it would launch prototypes in Q4 2022, using a completely different rocket from ABL Space Systems.

an intense program

The start of 2023 is just around the corner, but there’s still a lot of things that need to be done right for the launch to happen on time.

• FirstlyAmazon should really finish building the satellites, which the press release says will be completed by the end of this year.
• Second – the rocket isn’t ready yet either. ULA said it expects Vulcan to be completed by November and tested by December. This is not a completely proven launch platform, to put it mildly. The rocket is waiting for its first launch, so transfers may become commonplace.

Both companies must meet deadlines. ULA must launch Vulcan twice by Q4 2023 to prove reliable enough to run missions for the US Space Force. Meanwhile, Amazon has to launch half of its satellites by 2026 to maintain its FCC license. That’s more than by the end of next year, but given that the Amazon constellation is set to consist of 3,236 satellites, it will require quite a few launches over the next few years.

Thirty-eight of these are planned to be launched with the Vulcan launch vehicle, and the others with Arianespace and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rockets. SpaceX, which other satellite providers like Lynk and AST SpaceMobile use to launch equipment into space, is particularly missing from the list of partners.

Why Amazon satellite internet

Amazon said the company’s plan is to “provide fast, affordable broadband to underserved and underserved communities worldwide.” Interestingly, Amazon has an agreement with Verizon for its satellites to act as a transit hub for remote LTE or 5G cell towers.