The market is dominated by SpaceX and Starlink
“The fast internet market sent from orbit to Earth is currently dominated by the company Spacex Elona Muskawhich offers a similar service – a network Starlink. It has thousands of satellites in orbit, and almost every week lasts more, serving several million customers around the world, “noted the New York Times.
The first Amazon satellites
Amazon, who is a few years behind his rival, has just sent the first 27 satellites as part of the Kiiper constellation. They were taken to orbit by the Atlas V rocket, belonging to the United Launch Alliance (ULA) group, which includes Boeing and Lockheedmartin.
These satellites are the foundation Kiiper project – infrastructure, which is of great commercial, technological and geopolitical importance. Ultimately, the distribution of over 3.2 thousand is planned. Satellites in low Earth’s orbit (from 200 to 2,000 km above the ground).
Quoted by the AFP Amazon agency, he said that, unlike traditional satellite telecommunications services, which are based on a smaller number of larger satellites located over 35,000. km above the ground, Both Muska and Bezos operate in a lower orbit, which allows much faster data flow.
Satellites communicating with the ground with small mobile antennas also allow you to cover areas where, due to “cost, complexity and geographical conditions”, it is difficult to provide access to the Internet with the help of traditional ground communication solutions.
Project cost
Amazon has invested over $ 10 billion in a project. It is planned to use satellite networks To ensure very fast internet access in every part of the Earth, including in distant areas, in zones covered by armed conflicts and in areas affected by natural disasters.
As AFP emphasized, the service is to be launched later this year. Its cost remains unknown, but according to the announcement it should be “affordable”.
From New York Andrzej Dobrowolski (PAP)
