Tomorrow, Friday, October 6, Amazon is preparing to launch two experimental satellites from the Kuiper program into space as part of the Protoflight mission.
The two satellites – KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2 – were launched aboard a United Launch Alliance (UALA) Atlas V rocket as part of the Amazon Space Internet initiative.
Both satellites will be launched from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to the Kuiper project team, the Atlas V rocket will take the two satellites to an altitude of 500 kilometers, where they will enter low Earth orbit.
The Kuiper project team intends to conduct various tests to make the first contact with the satellite and use solar panels to generate electricity.
Once the satellite system is connected to the Internet, the team will attempt to transmit information between the satellite and the customer's ground stations.
Amazon says it will proactively deorbit the satellites at the end of their mission, allowing them to burn up in Earth's atmosphere.
“We have conducted extensive laboratory testing and are confident in our satellite design, although there is no substitute for in-orbit testing,” Rajiv Badyal, vice president of technology for the Kuiper Project, said in a statement.
He added: "This is the first time that Amazon has launched a satellite into space, and we will learn a lot regardless of how the mission goes."
Amazon was supposed to launch its test satellite earlier this year on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket, but the rocket exploded, delaying the initial launch. Amazon has announced plans to switch to Atlas V rockets instead of Vulcan rockets to avoid further delays.
Amazon stated that it is possible to launch the first production satellites in the first half of 2023, with experimental tests starting in late 2024.
Over the next six years, the company aims to form a constellation of more than 3,200 satellites in low Earth orbit to provide Internet connectivity in remote areas beyond the reach of traditional service providers, which puts it on the right track to compete with Starlink. It currently has more than 4,000 satellites.