Amazon's Project Kuiper: Everything you need to know

2020's FCC approval obliges Amazon t to deploy half of its satellite constellation by July 2026
An undated image of an Amazon spacecraft. — Amazon
An undated image of an Amazon spacecraft. — Amazon

The trend of ventures to make internet accessible from space has become sort of a bandwagon, with Elon Musk's SpaceX leading the realm tailed by Viasat and Hughesnet.

With that said the e-commerce juggernaut Amazon seems to be gearing up to get in line with such tycoons with Project Kuiper.

The retail giant joined the satellite internet domain in 2019 after it announced the deployment of over 3,200 satellites to offer high-speed, low-latency internet access, primarily to remote areas.

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"Our satellites' proximity to the surface of the Earth means they can deliver fast service to customers, making Project Kuiper connectivity effective for uses like video calls, gaming, and high-definition streaming," stated Amazon's official website.

Part of a fortunate development which paved the way for Amazon to progress further with the project, it was granted approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2020, which subsequently obliges it to deploy half of its satellite constellation by July 2026.

With Project Kuiper, Amazon is determined to globally provide broadband internet with a constellation of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.

The characteristic of Amazon's Project Kuiper is to fill the digital divide by bringing fast and reliable Internet connections to even the most rural areas, resulting in better services for businesses, education, and various other industries that heavily rely on Internet connectivity.

Amazon's Project Kuiper: A challenge to Elon Musk's SpaceX  

The project will have its satellites orbit in low Earth orbits (LEO) at altitudes between 590 to 630 km. The specified distance was decided to ensure lower latency than those of traditional geostationary satellites, a measure Amazon took to come on par with SpaceX’s Starlink.

The communication of Project Kuiper's satellites with user terminals and ground stations will be attained to keep the internet connections consistent and far from being sluggish.

Making use of its proprietary cloud-computing platform called Amazon Web Services, the company said its satellite network will offer secure operations. "This design will allow Project Kuiper to offer our customers flexible and secure end-to-end connectivity services to help them connect people, facilities, and equipment," mentioned a blog post shared by Amazon in November 2023.