Amazon invests $120 million in satellite factory to challenge Starlink

• Amazon is building a satellite processing facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
• Amazon’s Kuiper project involves 3,200 low-Earth-orbiting satellites, and the facility is crucial to its success.
• The facility will be finished by late 2024 and serve as a satellite processing site before launch.

Amazon, in collaboration with state officials, revealed its intention to build a cutting-edge satellite processing facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as per Reuters’ report.

With a significant budget of $120 million, this 100,000-square-foot building is a crucial component of Amazon’s ambitious Kuiper project, which aims to create an extensive network of 3,200 low-Earth-orbiting satellites.

These satellites have been engineered to deliver global-scale broadband internet coverage.

The Kuiper internet network, set to be a strong rival to SpaceX’s Starlink under Elon Musk‘s leadership, will also complement Amazon’s dominant web services platform.

To realize this vision, the Florida facility will hire a workforce of 50 highly skilled individuals.

The Florida facility will serve as the last destination for Amazon’s Kuiper satellites after their production at the main plant in Redmond, Washington, before they journey into space.

The Florida facility’s ten-story-tall room will play a vital role in the satellite deployment process, allowing for seamless integration of the satellites into the rocket payload fairings, which protect the satellites atop the rocket.

Amazon started construction on this site in January and expects it to be completed by late 2024. The company aims to send the first batch of satellites to the facility for processing in the first half of 2025.

Steve Metayer, Amazon’s vice president of Kuiper Production Operations, is confident that they can launch their first mass-produced satellites as early as 2024.

As per US regulatory requirements, Amazon aims to deploy half of the satellite network into orbit by 2026.

In pursuit of its ambitious objectives, Amazon has secured an impressive 77 heavy-lift rocket launch contracts, potentially valued at billions of dollars.

Also Read

Twitter to replace its iconic logo soon?

Elon Musk's announcement to change Twitter's logo and phase out the signature...

The majority of these contracts have been granted by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed, along with Jeff Bezos’s space company, Blue Origin.

Amazon plans to launch multiple prototype satellites into space by the end of the year and aims to send the first mass-produced satellites into orbit in 2024.

In the following year, Amazon intends to begin testing the service with corporate and government customers. The company’s substantial investment and strategic approach position it as a significant contender in the space-based internet industry.

To stay informed about current events, please like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BOLUrduNews/.
Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/bolnewsurdu01 and stay updated with the latest news.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel https://bit.ly/3Tv8a3P to watch news from Pakistan and around the world.