The company amazon -property of the tycoon Jeff Bezos– launched the first two into space this Friday satellite prototypes on a test mission to provide internet to everyone from space. In what is known as “ juiper project“, seek to develop a satellite constellation that will be able compete with that of Space.
The launch – which took place in Kennedy Space Centerlocated in the state of Florida– it was in the Atlas V rocketfrom the industrial group United Launch Alliance (ULA). “We are going to learn a lot, regardless of how the mission turns out,” he said in a statement. Rajeev Badyalvice president of technology at Project Kuiper.
The project, which includes the launch and placement into orbit of 3,200 satellites in the next six yearsforesees that the two prototypes launched will disintegrate in the atmosphere terrestrial at the conclusion of its mission.
According to amazonit is expected that the first operational satellites of the Kuiper project are launched early 2024and that at the end of it the first tests with clients.
For the development of the project, a initial investment of US$10,000 millionin addition to the hiring of three aerospace firms (ULA, the European consortium Arianespace and Blue Originfrom Bezos himself) who will be in charge of 92 launches in the next five years.
To compete with the Elon Musk’s companyAmazon invested US$120 million to build a facility satellite processing on rented land in Kennedy Space Center of the POT, in Florida, and another of 16,000 square meters in KirklandEditin the state of Washington.
The launch of the Amazon satellite
At the scheduled time, the 14:06 local timethe Atlas rocket took off successfully from a platform Space Force Station of Cape Canaveralwith the two prototypes at their peak and heading towards the call low earth orbit.
A few minutes after takeoff, the rocket passed through the Earth’s atmosphere and reached spacewhere shortly after the first stage of the rocket shut down its engines and separated from the second stage, called Centaur and three meters in diameter.
Now, when the satellites take off at more than 500 kilometers altitude, they will be carried out evidence contact and instrument review From the earth.
Source: Ambito
