Amazon changes rockets for launch of prototype Kuiper internet satellites, pushing mission to 2023

[Elderberry]

CNBC by Michael Sheetz 10/12/2022

Amazon changes rockets for launch of prototype Kuiper internet satellites, pushing mission to 2023

Key Points

•   Amazon is swapping rides for the first prototype satellites for its Project Kuiper internet network, the company announced Wednesday.

•   The move from ABL’s RS1 rocket to ULA’s Vulcan rocket effectively delays the first in-space test of Kuiper satellites to the first quarter of 2023.

•   Project Kuiper is Amazon’s plan to build a network of 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit, to provide high-speed internet to anywhere in the world.

Amazon is swapping rides for the first prototype satellites for its Project Kuiper internet network, the company announced Wednesday, a move that delays launching the pair of spacecraft to early next year.

The tech giant is moving its Kuipersat-1 and Kuipersat-2 from the RS1 rocket in development by ABL Space to the debut flight of the Vulcan rocket from United Launch Alliance, the joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin

A year ago Amazon announced that ABL’s RS1 would carry the prototypes to orbit in late 2022, but the rocket is still in development, with a prior debut launch yet to lift off.

More: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/12/amazon-changes-kuiper-prototype-satellites-launch-from-abl-to-ula.html

[Elderberry]

Amazon to launch first of its Kuiper internet satellites on ULA rocket

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/10/12/amazon-internet-satellites-ula/

Two prototypes would launch early next year as the company seeks to build a constellation that would eventually grow to 3,236 satellites and compete with SpaceX’s Starlink system

Amazon has permission from the Federal Communications Commission to put up 3,236 satellites, helping connect people without easy access to broadband as it seeks to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink system. The company has pledged to invest more than $10 billion into a system it says will serve not only individual households but also schools, hospitals and businesses that do not have access to reliable broadband. Badyal said Amazon now has 1,000 people working on the project as it seeks to grab a part of the lucrative internet market taking hold in space. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

To meet the obligations under its FCC license, Amazon must deploy half the constellation by 2026. Badyal said the company is on track to meet that requirement.

[Smokin Joe]

Well, now we know why Musk is catching so much flack.
(delaying game)
Follow the money.