Amazon's space internet plan encounters obstacles, the Kuiper project faces delays
Amazon's space internet project "Project Kuiper" is facing significant challenges due to delays in satellite production, which may require an extension request to the Federal Communications Commission. The number of satellites that have been assembled so far is far below the planned scale, and the launch of the first batch of 27 satellites has also been postponed due to weather conditions. Despite the difficulties, Amazon is still accelerating the progress of the project and has successfully launched prototype satellites. CEO Andy Jassy expressed confidence that the plan will become a strategic-level business
According to Zhitong Finance APP, Amazon's (AMZN.US) space internet project "Project Kuiper" is facing significant challenges. According to informed sources, due to severe delays in satellite production, the e-commerce giant is likely to need to apply for an extension from the Federal Communications Commission. So far, only a few dozen satellites have been assembled, far below the planned deployment scale. These satellites aim to compete with SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service; however, initial production has been delayed until the fourth quarter of 2024 and has already undergone beta testing in the early stages of this year.
In addition, the launch of the company's first 27 satellites has been postponed—the launch originally scheduled for April 9 has been moved to the 28th due to weather reasons and will be executed by the joint venture United Launch Alliance (ULA) formed by Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
It is understood that the project carries the ambition of providing broadband services to 400-500 million unconnected households, but the sluggish production and frequent rocket launch delays create a double whammy. To accelerate progress, Amazon has spent billions of dollars signing long-term agreements with multiple launch service providers, including Arianespace, Blue Origin owned by Bezos, and even competitor SpaceX.
Despite the numerous challenges, Amazon's exploration in the space sector has not stopped. In October 2023, the company successfully launched two end-to-end prototype satellites into space and announced two months later that it had successfully completed testing of the optical mesh network for laser links between its Project Kuiper internet satellites in low Earth orbit.
The company's CEO Andy Jassy reiterated in the latest letter to shareholders: "Despite the significant initial investment, we believe that Project Kuiper will grow into a strategically significant business with substantial revenue contributions." According to plan, Amazon needs to deploy approximately 3,200 satellites in low Earth orbit to build a global high-speed internet network
