Amazon se lance dans la course à Internet par satellites
L'actu
Amazon’s ambitious satellite-internet project, Project Kuiper, aims to launch its first two prototype satellites in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to an experimental launch license the company filed with the Federal Communications Commission today. Called KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2, the two prototypes are supposed to launch on an experimental new rocket called the RS1, currently being developed by startup ABL Space Systems based in El Segundo, California. Lire l'article complet sur the Verge.
Une constellation de plus de 3000 satellites
L'ambition
Amazon recently announced that, by the end of next year, a startup called ABL Space Systems would deliver two prototype satellites for Project Kuiper, the company’s effort to build a low-Earth orbit, or LEO, satellite constellation that can beam internet connectivity down to Earth. Amazon says it will eventually deploy 3,236 such satellites that will provide fast, affordable broadband to unserved and underserved communities around the world. Lire l'article complet sur Vox.
L'échec de Bill Gates
Les précédents
In the past, others have tried and failed to do just what SpaceX, Amazon and OneWeb are hoping to accomplish. Teledesic, a company partly funded by Bill Gates in the mid-1990s, failed after costs soared into the billions. Attempts by Iridium and Globalstar failed after both ended up in bankruptcy. Lire l'article complet sur le Washington Post.
Un marché déjà occupé
La concurrence
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Musk are rivals in the private space launch business. Bezos' Blue Origin has challenged the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's decision to award a $2.9 billion lunar lander contract to SpaceX.
SpaceX has accused Amazon in its own filing with the FCC of seeking to delay SpaceX's plan: "While SpaceX has proceeded to deploy more than 1,700 satellites, Amazon has yet to even attempt to address the radiofrequency interference and orbital debris issues that must be resolved before Amazon can deploy its constellation." Lire l'article complet sur Reuters.
