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Jeff Bezos rocket company Blue Origin has signed an agreement with Telesat Canada to launch a portion of the satellite constellation to provide fast Internet access to governments and businesses around the world, reports Reuters.
The contract adds a significant customer to Blue Origin's manifesto, as Bezos' space company strives to capture a lucrative but crowded market share of launch services with its new developing New Glenn heavyweight rocket, scheduled for 2021.
In October, Telesat, supported by Loral Space & Communications Inc., announced that it had completed the first-ever live high-speed flight test using a low-Earth-orbit satellite. It was targeting 2022 for broadband services from a constellation of nearly 300 satellites.
The rocket Blue Origin will propel an undisclosed part of the constellation in orbit after several launches, announced Thursday the two companies.
Telesat's network "will accelerate the development of 5G, bridge the digital divide with high speed services in rural and remote communities, and define new levels of performance for commercial and government connectivity, "said the company in a statement.
Telesat is part of a number of competing companies that are planning constellations that will spread broadband Internet from space. These include OneWeb, based in McLean, Virginia, which planned a first launch in February, and Elon Musk's SpaceX Starlink project, which is racing for its first launch later this year.
The Satellite Industry Association's advocacy group estimates that the global market for broadband and satellite broadband TV services is US $ 127.7 billion, compared to US $ 5.5 billion for the market. satellite launch services.
The Bezos rocket company, founder of Amazon.com, is part of a series of space companies backed by billionaires seeking to disrupt the market of traditional launch services with reusable rocket technology.
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