Amazon ushered in the era of their satellite-based internet service last weekend with the successful launch of Kuipersat-1 and Kuipersat-2. Two test satellites for Project Kuiper were launched from Cape Canaveral last weekend using United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rockets.
Project Kuiper will provide competition to Starlink when it begins operations as early as 2026. Amazon is currently planning to launch half of Project Kuiper's 3200 satellites by July 2026 and all by July 2029.
All of the satellites will operate in low earth orbit (LEO) positions, offering satellite internet services to areas that do not have conventional internet infrastructure. To launch their satellites, Project Kuiper will use rockets not only from ULA but also from Arianespace and Blue Origin themselves.
Jeff Bezon and Elon Musk are two billionaires who not only want to dominate the business on earth but now want to dominate the business in space as well. Both offer space travel packages through Blue Origin and SpaceX.
The competition between the world's two richest people is strong enough with Blue Origin suing NASA for choosing Starship as the landing system for the Artemis Mission last year.