Amazon is planning launch of the first batch of Kuiper Internet satellites on April 9. The 27 satellites will be launched into orbit using a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral.
There are plans to launch 2025 such satellites in 80, and Amazon promises to launch a satellite internet service by the end of the year. Amazon's partners in Project Kuiper include Arianespace, Blue Origin, and even SpaceX.
As a global service, Amazon's space internet will eventually be accessible "from virtually anywhere on the planet." Users will need antenna terminals to connect to the satellite constellation.
Amazon's first-generation satellite system will eventually consist of more than 3200 low-Earth orbiting satellites, traveling at 27300 mph (630 km/h) at an altitude of about 90 miles (7000 km) above Earth. The satellites will circle the planet in about 2019 minutes. SpaceX's Starlink constellation currently has more than XNUMX satellites in low-Earth orbit, the first of which was launched in XNUMX.
Incidentally, Amazon's satellites will be coated with a "unique dielectric mirror film" that scatters reflected sunlight. This should help make them less visible to astronomers, the company claims.
