The battle of the billionaires is on as Amazon is now trying to step up their game and reach the heights of SpaceX and Starlink, companies led by Elon Musk. Yesterday, Amazon launched a pair of their prototype satellites for its planned Kuiper internet network.
Now, it is indeed a face-to-face competition against Starlink as both companies try to beam internet globally. This test by Amazon will be followed by thousands of other satellites that will help them achieve the feat.
A rocket operated by United Launch Alliance, featuring the Amazon logo, took off from Cape Canaveral around 2 p.m. Eastern time (1800 GMT). Onboard were the two Kuiper test satellites, a mission that Amazon had long anticipated but originally planned to launch using different rockets.
Now, as per the reports, Amazon is targeting to launch 3,236 more satellites in the next few years. That is a bit short of what Starlink is projecting, which is around 5,000.
Amazon is obligated by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to launch 50% of its envisioned satellite network by 2026.
Though in this game, Starlink and Amazon aren’t the only players, as companies like Telesat and OneWeb will have a fair share of the market as well.
