Sono stati lanciati da Cape Canaveral, in Florida, i primi due prototipi degli oltre 3’200 satelliti per la connessione internet a banda larga della costellazione Kuiper che Amazon intende dispiegare per sfidare concorrenti come Starlink di Elon Musk.
I due dimostratori, KuiperSat-1 e KuiperSat-2 sono partiti a bordo del razzo Atlas 5 della United Launch Alliance e rimarranno in orbita a 500 chilometri di altezza per circa un anno, fornendo informazioni preziose per lo sviluppo di altri satelliti della costellazione. Alla fine della missione di prova verranno deorbitati.
Secondo i piani di Amazon, il 50% di tutti i satelliti della costellazione dovrebbe essere operativo in orbita entro il 30 luglio 2026, mentre il dispiegamento dell’intera flotta dovrebbe concludersi entro luglio 2029. Per rispettare questa tabella di marcia, Amazon ha già prenotato lanci da Arianespace, Blue Origin e Ula.
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