[ad_1]
Amazon plans to launch a constellation of 3,236 satellites in its low Earth orbit to provide Internet access to "underserved and under-served communities around the world". GeekWire noted that Kuiper Systems LLC had recently filed three series of filings with the ITU, the international organization for the coordination of satellite orbits. Amazon has confirmed that Kuiper Systems is one of his projects.
Amazon is the latest addition to a series of companies that plan to use a network of thousands of satellites to offer broadband worldwide. Unlike traditional satellite Internet, these plans include the use of low Earth orbit satellites, which can be operated at lower cost and with lower latency. SpaceX plans to launch up to 12,000 satellites as part of its Starlink constellation, OneWeb wants to launch 650 satellites and Facebook is also developing its own Internet satellite.
The Kuiper project will include satellites at three different altitudes: there will be 784 satellites at 367 miles, 1,296 satellites at 379 miles and 1,156 satellites at 391 miles. These satellites will provide an Internet connection in areas ranging from 56 degrees north (roughly in central Scotland) to 56 degrees south (below the southernmost tip of South America). In theory, this region covers more than 95% of the Earth's population.
When he was contacted for a comment, a spokesman for Amazon said:
The Kuiper Project is a new initiative to launch a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites that will provide low-latency, high-speed broadband connectivity to underserved and underserved communities around the world. This is a long-term project aimed at serving tens of millions of people without basic broadband access. We look forward to collaborating on this initiative with companies that share this vision.
Amazon has not yet announced its intention to build its own satellites or buy them from a third party. Nor has he made any decision as to how to launch them into orbit. Although Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has his own space flight company called Blue Origin, an Amazon spokesperson has confirmed GeekWire this "[Amazon] will of course look at all the options. "
The project will also require a network of earth stations with which satellites can communicate. Last year, Amazon launched AWS Ground Station, a cloud computing service that will enable space-to-ground communications.
There is no deadline for orbiting Amazon satellites, but it will have to be approved by the Federal Communications Commission before it can do so. The FCC will consider issues such as orbital congestion as well as Amazon's plans to decommission its satellites at the end of its operation. Orbital debris has become a growing concern; Last year, NASA recommended de-spacing 99 satellites from these mega-constellations once their missions were completed to prevent space around the Earth from filling up with hazardous wastes.
[ad_2]
Source link